X-Cerpts A Drip Here, A Drab There
by Winterscorpion
Summary: Been meaning to do this for awhile. Most of these chapters are from prompts and the part I've played in collaboration with a group of the some of the most talented writers in the game all of whom I call dear friends, @weretheoneswhowrite. I hope you enjoy my little drips and drabbles and I can't believe how awesome you are for even stopping by and giving me a read. Enjoy. xoxox
1. Quick & Dirty 100: Ssssshhh

**A/N Kicking this off with a quickie written for the weretheoneswhowrite Quick & Dirty 100. **

**Exactly 100 hundred words of Dirty.**

 **Hope you like it**

#-#-#-#-#

"Shhhhh" he brought his rough calloused hand up to her panting mouth and inserted the two fingers that were previously making their favorite circular journey on her swollen plump clit to meet her tongue so she could taste herself and what him and his cock were doing to her. He groaned quietly as he continued his penetrative punishment as she sucked his fingers clean of her wet offering to his god cock. Fuck, if he could scream her name as he felt her tightening wet walls convulse around his ever hardening manhood he would… but then who would shush him?


	2. Room 2469 - CELEBRATE LIKE A BOSS

**A/N: This was my first collaboration with the amazing writing team of weretheoneswhowrite. I can't say how proud I am of the part I played in this beautiful story and the friendships I made with some of the most talented writers in this fandom. I will be forever grateful to Miss J for inviting me amongst these rockstars. If you haven't read this in it's entirety then you need to reevaluate your life choices. Go check out this story and the rest of the other wonderful stories being put out by these all stars. So without further ado, my little contribution to the team.**

#_#_#_#_#_#_#_#

Room 2469 9th year: Celebrate - Like A Boss

9th year: 6th anniversary

Gift by year: Iron

My playlist: Say It First - Sam Smith

Come on baby, say it first

I need to hear you, say those words

If I'm all that you desire, I promise there'll be fire

I need to hear you, say it first

Come on baby

Do your worst

I know you'll take me higher

So come on darling

If you love me, say it first

God he never shuts up, Michonne thought as she half listened to the senior partner Negan expound on her many virtues while simultaneously giving himself every pat on the back for having the…

"Progressive foresight and vision for grasping this extraordinary woman from the depths of obscurity…"

 _Obscurity? I was Magna cum laude and the youngest editor and the first Black Woman President for the Harvard Law Review,_ Michonne could barely restrain her eye roll and maintained the polite smile frozen in place for just such occasions. All eyes were on her after all. She wouldn't want to show her enormous disdain for the man at her very own announcement dinner. All of her hard work and Rick's unending support got her to where she was right now. Not _this self-righteous prick_ with his self-satisfied smirk and stupid off-color jokes who practically begged her to join the firm. Offering her an insane relocation package and sweetening her signing bonus to the ridiculous point of "Damn, that's a shitload of money, you better take that job". Not that the money was her driving force. Michonne loved the law. She loved the reasoning basis of justice and the thrill of the fight. Negan was actually lucky that he was working for a firm that had such a stellar reputation and was on the right side of history with a prestigious amount of wins litigated for some very high profile wrongful death suits.

"Without her assistance in the hard-won fight against the …"

 _Assistance… if this pompous ass don't take a seat… I was LEAD counsel on that case_ , Michonne was just about to lose the veneer of grace as she listened to this man take credit for most of her accomplishments when,

"Why the hell is he still talking," she felt Rick's whisper against her ear as she felt him caress her exposed shoulder, "and why is he talking about all the cases YOU won like they're his victories?"

"Oh baby, you made it," she let out a relieved sigh. She was so wrapped up in listening to Negan drone on that she hadn't realized that the empty seat next to her became occupied with her husband. Proof positive that the repellant man's speech "honoring" her at this, the pinnacle of her career to date, was having a negative effect on her state of mind. Whenever Rick was within 5 feet of her she would normally feel his presence. She didn't know if it was remnants of instinctual scent recognition bred from centuries of mate pheromone detection or that she was just that tuned into her husband's presence. She suspected the latter. Ever since first setting eyes on each other nearly 9 years ago they had been drawn to each other like magnets. Even when he pissed her off with his assumptions, way back when he thought she and Aaron were a thing, she still had to be near him… even if it was to take him down a peg or three. She smiled at the recollection as she saw Aaron and Sasha a few tables away from them. Sasha was barely holding in her contempt for the long-winded speech making, her eyes nearly rolling out of her head with every accomplishment Negan had embellished to make sure he had some positive part in Michonne's success. Aaron, clearly on his third highball, didn't even bother holding in his scoffs.

Rick smirked as he realized he wasn't the only proud member of Michonne's inner circle there to celebrate his Princess' rise to Queendom in her firm. The stature well deserved from her hard work, a test of both her business and personal acumen. This man was riling him up with his blustering but he knew it would soon be blessedly over and then they could really celebrate. Not only her becoming the youngest partner in the firm's history, but equally important, the celebration of the day she did him the great honor of becoming his partner. For better or worse, richer or poorer, till the end of the world. His partner for life.

A celebration he had been preparing for for the better part of the last two months. From convincing Aaron to convince this asshole to hold the annual Partners retreat at their hotel, to many phone calls to the designer of Michonne's special gift, to successfully deterring his wife's inquisitive nature from getting the better of her and ruining the surprises he had in store for her… for them. Luckily his excuse of having to "wrap up some loose ends at the precinct" was plausible since they both were officers of the law and "I'm running late…" was the start of more than a few phone calls in their hectic lives. Especially now that they were working parents, "this one's gonna be quick, hard and dirty… that alright with you?" had also become a part of their repertoire. But not tonight, Rick thought with a small smile as he continued to caress his wife bare shoulder.

"Of course, I made it Princess," Rick leaned in and gave her a light kiss on her sweet smelling neck in greeting, "I may have broken a few laws to get here…" another light kiss and slight lick from his tongue, she really smelled too good not to have a little taste, "but good thing I know an amazing lawyer," he ended his mild assault on her neck by adding a small bit of suction on the sweetest part behind her neck.

"Mmmm… baby, all eyes on us right now," Michonne quietly moaned and tried to keep the sanguine look on her face as she felt the air hit the moisture he had left on the side of her neck sending tingles up her spine and straight down to her core. Regretting having to make him stop, she was still very cognizant of the full room they were in. It just wouldn't look right if all of the principal partners and their frigid wives watched her melt into a puddle of her own juices, as Rick's mere touches were wont to do, right before her acceptance speech. She was known for always having her shit together in front of these people. Having to work twice as hard and be four times as smart to justify her place at the head table. As much as she needed his tongue on her neck, as well as other very important places on her body, there would be time enough for all of that later.

"You look too beautiful not to taste baby," Rick whispered, "Buuuut you're right. You're the boss tonight," giving her a waist squeeze before taking a look at his perfectly cooked steak.

"I'm the boss, hmm?" Michonne smirked slyly, "I like the sound of that."

"I knew you would," Rick replied with a sexy side glance and cut a sizeable piece of the juicy meat. _Little do you know baby_ , as he savored a succulent piece while thinking about what he hoped to be savoring later. And savor it he would, as he couldn't keep his hands from caressing every exposed bit of skin he could spy on his wife. He'd only seen her dress in it's garment bag at home when he ventured a peek before she left a couple of days prior for the retreat. Every year he thought she outdid herself with the signature red outfit to commemorate the occasion of their anniversary but this year … shit, he hadn't even seen it on her yet. From the fitted sleeveless bodice with plunging neckline to the flowing panels of the long skirt and _GOTDAMNIT… THAT SLIT_ that seemed to go straight up to heaven itself. Lord that high slit guaranteed hours of fun playtime and almost made Michonne late as Rick played one of his "Quick and dirty" cards that morning sending Michonne into her waiting car with a satisfied smile and slightly bow legged walk to match her husband's.

His hand had found her knee under his newest beloved slit and was making a ticklish pathway to his most cherished actual slit as they both tried to continue the farce of listening to the never-ending speech. "C'mon **Boss** ," his gravelly whisper in her ear as he felt her thighs try to impede his progress by slowly closing on his travelling hand, "Open up for me just a little bit. Let me play… just a little," Michonne's thighs had a mind of their own as she felt them open up seemingly of their own volition. "That's it. Just a little bit more…" his thumb had found its destination and slid her thong to the side and ran down her already moist soft outer lips, "Yeah, that's it … I just want a little time before …" his thumb got to the hood of her slowly engorging clit and simply pressed, "you're the **Boss**. All. Night. Long," his thumb accentuating each point with a pressured circle on her bundle of nerves getting wetter and more swollen by the second.

Michonne could barely suppress a moan as she stared straight ahead, "Boss? All night long," She breathed out as quietly as she could.

"All. Night. Long," he continued his circular savagery. He wanted so bad to let his other fingers do the rest of the talking for him but now that Rick had her primed and ready with a hint of where their night was headed he didn't realize how much of an effect it would have on him. He was already half way hard the moment he walked in and saw his wife in all her resplendent red glory. But now, it was lucky there was a long table cloth hiding his now fully tented suit pants. He had been wound so tight in preparation for tonight that if he stuck even one digit into her warm canal, he would be in danger of exploding right at the table.

"They say excellence is forged at the crossroads of ingenuity and execution and we, gentlemen and wonderful little ladies have reached that crossroads with my beautiful protégé Mrs. Michonne Grimes," Negan did a sweeping gesture to finally bring Michonne to the podium. Rick immediately slid his fingers from their warm happy place in one smooth motion as Michonne stood with as much composure as a woman with a soaked thong could muster. Rick had to give it to her though, he had felt her starting to rhythmically push her hot center closer towards his index finger, she made her way to the podium with all the sleek grace of panther stalking her prey. He thought he could hear an almost audible "Whoa" ripple around various parts of the room as all eyes bore witness to the sleek goddess that was his sexy wife. If he was the jealous type… correction, if he was still the jealous type of man he would have let his insecurities overtake him like he had a couple years ago, grabbed that long table cloth, wrapped her up from head to toe, and flung her over his shoulder caveman style, hollering: "she's mine". He had already spied Mike at another distant table clearly wrapped up in his date for the evening, and he already knew he had nothing to worry about from him. He didn't need any of those kinds of histrionics though. He knew who Michonne called home.

"Thank you, Negan for that _magnanimous_ introduction," Michonne started her speech receiving some well-deserved chuckles throughout the small crowd, "Even though there were many steps to climb to get to this point, I would be remiss without first giving thanks where they are truly deserved to my wonderful, supportive husband. Without him those long hours of leading the charge in so many of the various trials we have, all together, worked on, would not have been possible for me."

 _That's my girl_ , Rick thought as he listened to Michonne give credit, where credit was due without diminishing anyone, herself included, for her meteoric rise within the firm. _Show 'em how it's done babe_ , as he looked on with pride shining through his crystal blue eyes. As she continued, he returned his attention to his steak, but not before he stuck his still moist thumb in his mouth to get every trace of her arousal from the invading digit.

"She is remarkable, our Michonne," Negan had sat back in his seat which was unfortunately on Rick's other side, "Almost as remarkable as that steak you seem to be enjoying." Rick didn't bother to disguise his sneer and was moments away from saying something equally vile when he realized that people were standing to applaud Michonne's end to her perfectly timed speech. He stood along with everyone else and heartily clapped for his wife with his back firmly turned away from the great offender. As he watched her work the crowd of well-wishers before making her way back to him, Rick was calculating the most appropriate time for them to slip away unnoticed. I'm giving her 45 minutes, that should be more than enough time, he thought as he looked for Aaron to put the rest of his plan in motion.

Exactly 43 minutes later, Michonne felt a tap on her shoulder. She had done her best to speak to the major principles of her firm and even managed to share a commiserating toast with Sasha whilst looking around the room for her husband who she lost in the small crowd. Just as she was about to make a beeline back to their seats, Aaron, trusty as ever, followed his instructions to a tee and handed Michonne a small red envelope embossed with her name on it.

"Oh Aaron, this is so sweet," she exclaimed, "You're always so thoughtful."

"That's not from me," Aaron said with a mysterious wink, "I'm just the messenger," backing away as he grabbed Sasha for a spin on the dance floor. Michonne shook her head bemusedly and turned her attention back to the mysterious envelope. She broke the wax seal that had a "G" stamped on it and her smile grew as she knew exactly what the G in Grimes stood for. She pulled out the cream heavy stock card and swiftly made her way to the exit after reading two simple words written in the very familiar scrawl.

 **I'm Waiting.**

"Well hot diggity dog Michonne, it looks like we've got us a proper balls to the wall shindig," Negan was stopped mid-drunken slur by Michonne's upheld hand as he made a shimmy lean toward her in hopes of getting her to "boogy woogy" with him.

 _Nope, not today Satan. Not today_ , Michonne had somewhere to be and she had had enough of this man's blustering underlying chauvinism for one night, "Negan, I think Morgan was looking for you." Negan's eyes went wide and immediately straightened his tie upon hearing that the most senior partner was possibly looking to engage him in conversation. The moment he looked around to his right, Michonne dipped to the left and made her way through the room and smoothly exited.

 **He was waiting.**

###

 _Roses, with an underlying hint of… CHOCOLATE._ As Michonne stood outside the door with the number 2469 in bold writing at the top center trying to calm her tumultuous core, she smelled the familiar scents permeating through the heavy door. She could only imagine the amount of flowers and decadent treat it took to make the enticing aroma leak through but knowing her husband she wouldn't be surprised if she walked into room with a chocolate waterfall and veritable bushes of roses growing out of the plush carpet. Rick was always so good at romantic surprises. Never letting her forget that even though she may be a hard core, demanding attorney, she was still a woman. A sexy, loving woman who loved to be cherished and grand romantic gestures were always welcome surprises that never diminished her view of him as the man in her life. Ten times out of ten, she showed him just how much of a man she thought he was as she screamed his name as she wrapped her loving thighs around him, clenching around his very real manhood.

Times like right now, as she looked at the card again. "I'm waiting". She could almost hear his raspy voice in her ear and she ruined her thong panties just a little more with a small gush of wetness.

"Well wait no more," she whispered to the door as she inserted the hotel card into its slot to release the lock. She was almost right as she walked into the suite that was filled with every assortment of roses she could imagine. From the always classic deep red roses to the rare deep purple Amethyst star roses, to pink Parfait Roses… even pure white Venus roses. All set around the outer room of the suite leading to the center stage of a single table adorned with a chocolate fountain and a vase with a single rare Black Jade rose on the edge of bloom. Rick had thought of everything, and she could only wonder at the detective skills he honed trying to find such a rare variety that was the exact replica to the very rose that was forever inked over his heart. As she stepped closer in a dreamlike state she realized that every light was covered with sheer red scarves so everything had a warm glow. Rick's eye for detail was unparalleled, she thought as she approached the table to see that it was also occupied by two platters. One with the truffles she loved that she remembered from their honeymoon and the other with fresh ripe strawberries. Some already dipped in chocolate and waiting to be bitten into and others in a tantalizing pile waiting to be dipped into the bubbling fountain of creamy chocolate. Also on the table was a black rectangular gift box wrapped with a satin red ribbon. She ran her hand over the smooth finish of the box, letting her imagination run its course. Necklace? Diamond necklace? Too small for lingerie but too big for a bracelet … who better to ask than the gift giver himself as she smirked and made her way to the bedroom.

She didn't need to guess which room of the 2 bedroom suite he was waiting in. It was always the one with the floor to ceiling windows and the best view. A view she appreciated many times since every year of their anniversary. A view she recalled not even seeing that one time he had her pressed against those very same windows, breasts and her face pleasantly squashed against the glass as he pressed himself into her from behind, hands intertwined and splayed against the cool surface. Their favorite room, where she now found him in nothing but his black boxer briefs sitting upright against the many plump pillows, one leg crooked under the other outstretched one in the middle of the king size bed with just his large erection to keep him company. An erection that he was slowly stroking like his favorite pet as he watched his wife enter the room under hooded lust filled eyes.

"Sorry to keep you waiting love," Michonne said quietly, with her smooth lowered voice. She bit her bottom lip as she watched his hand move slowly over his bulge.

"S'alright baby," Rick drawled, never letting up on his steady manipulation of his steel hard cock, "Tonight's your night."

She licked her lips, "Oh right, because I'm the boss tonight, right?"

"That's right," he replied, still softly stroking, "You're the boss… tonight. I see you haven't opened your present yet." Rick finally paused in his cock stroke as the anticipation of seeing her grasping onto her present was driving him to distraction. It just wouldn't do to have him blow his impending load before the games began.

"You're right," she said practically forgetting the box she was unconsciously stroking in time to his own. She slowly pulled the satin ribbon as she walked towards the side of the bed. Rick didn't move from his position in the middle of the bed afraid that the friction from the fabric of his underwear from even the slightest movement would cause an explosion. He watched her sit by his outstretched leg facing him as she peered into the open box. A range of emotions from confused to acute awareness to finally full blown sexy lust ran the gamut across her face. Her index finger ran across the four large iron links, each engraved with a different word. "Property" "Of" "Michonne" "Grimes" The links connecting two black fur lined red leather cuffs, each with their own word etched in black and a stitched silhouette of a woman's body in repose underneath. "BOSS" "LADY"

"Hmmm. Is this a gift for me… or for you," she finally looked up into her husband's eyes that had now darkened to the color of a stormy sea.

"It's for whoever you say it's for," he bit his bottom lip, "Because…"

"I'm the boss," she said as she gingerly took out the cuffs, "Well I guess my first action as boss," she swiftly straddled him, slowly grinding onto his woefully covered cock, "is to take charge." She took both of his hands and brought them above his head and almost chuckled to herself as this was a signature Rick Grimes move. Once they were above his head she proceeded to place each one into a cuff while Rick took advantage of that lovely v-neck exposing the skin between her breasts, giving it a long, slow lick.

"Ah ah ahhh… you got enough play time downstairs Mr. Grimes," she remonstrated him as she crawled backwards away from his hot tongue, "As a matter of fact, I think I'm going to have to give my first reprimand."

This was _exactly_ what he'd been waiting for since he'd started his research on the perfect gift for his newly anointed queen. He couldn't wait to see where she would take this. Not that their sex life was boring but even hot as fuck quickies couldn't quench the more adventurous thirst he knew they both had.

His queen in red turned slowly around and unzipped her dress, letting it fall with a whisper of sound to the floor. The tightness of the bodice left her without the need for a bra so she stood in the puddle of fabric with just her soaked panties. Panties that got more moist to the point of translucency as she felt Rick's steely gaze slide down her body.

"Reprimand? Is that so," he teased back.

"Yes. For the job you left unfinished," she slid her hand down between her breasts and slowly made the trip past her navel, and then to the lacy waistline of the thin material, "Looks like I'm just going to have to finish it myself," and dipped her hand into the front and found her swollen wet clit. She raised her other hand to her mouth and put her index finger in her mouth and gave it a slow lick. "Mmm… yeah, it feels like I'm definitely going to have make you watch..."

There was nary a peep of argument from him as she brought her moistened finger to her left nipple and made soft wet circles around the hardening nub, matching the circles with her other occupied hand on her engorged button.

"Fuck baby," Rick did NOT think this punishment fit the crime as he watched his wife pleasure herself right in front of his face. He could almost smell her over the chocolate and flowers and watched as a tasty looking bit of nectar escaped her and ran tantalizing down her leg. "I… I can finish my job."

Michonne did another turn to give Rick the perfect view of her phenomenal ass barely covered by the thin red material between the cheeks. He gave a loud groan as she hooked her fingers onto the sides and slowly bent bringing the sopping bit of cloth to the ground. He caught a glimpse of the pinkness between her thighs and brought his cuffed hands down from their elevated position and did his best as he could to draw out his hard, pulsing cock from his briefs. He was mid-shimmy to get them off when she turned and lifted an eyebrow.

"Mm, no I don't think you deserve to finish the job that way," she murmured as she sashayed to the end of the bed and spread his legs akimbo towards each corner of the bed, effectively halting his underwear removal process and leaving the top half of his dick exposed to all kinds of fresh _frictionless_ air. Rick was beginning to rethink his life choices as he watched her slow approach, coyly keeping her hips up and away from his straining manhood. It's like it sniffed it's home and was being denied out in the cold harsh outdoors. She placed her hands on each side of his hips and pulled in a gesture to make him lay straight down. Which he did hastily, perfectly understanding what he thought was coming.

"No… I think the boss deserves a little playtime herself," she continued her slow crawl until her pussy was now hovering above his face and he had a full view of her pink dripping canal. She did a slow wind above him, just out of his reach as she had maneuvered his hands back over his head and used the top of her knees to hold them in place.

Michonne was a _mean_ boss, Rick decided as he watched her vulva undulate over him surrounding his entire being with her scent. Her pink bud showing its head from under its hood looking like a chocolate dipped strawberry… and chocolate dipped strawberries were Rick's favorite kind of strawberry. Hell he had a whole damn platter of them just waiting outside this very room. If she would just… dip her hip… just a little… closer…

"Oh baby, do you see what you did to me," Michonne moaned as she relinquished one his hands only to torture him further by making him watch as she she dipped two fingers into pulsing canal. He gave a deep growl as he watched and heard the obscene wet sounds as they moved in and out of her.

"Boss,if you don't sit on my face right the fuck now," Rick said through clenched teeth, "I'm asking so very nicely."

Michonne couldn't take anymore reprimanding herself as her fingers were grazing that deep spot within her and she wanted nothing more than to feel his mouth on her. She acquiesced and lowered her throbbing center to his mouth. Rick needed no other guidance. Hell he didn't even need his hands that were still being held captured by his wife's toned thighs. He immediately went for his tasty strawberry and gave it his own special attention. After a few firm licks he got down to the business of using his plump pink lips and gave her clit a nice long sloppy suck.

"Chriiiiissst, Rick," was all Michonne could gasp out as she sat fully straight up to push her clit further into his mouth. Thankful for the release, his hands found her breasts and used his thumbs to strum each nipple as she ground down into his face. He was nearly breathless and his beard was now a sticky viscous mess as he moved his tongue savagely from her clit to her dripping entrance. She began a mild bounce as he used his tongue to do what his turgid cock wanted to do, tunneling into her pussy like a runaway train. His hips were pumping upward into… nothing but air but his dick didn't seem to care with pre-cum dribbling fast from its head.

"Fuck baby, I … need… I neeeeeeeddd…"

"What do you need baby," his mumbled response vibrating through her.

"I … need … your cock," she lifted her body up quickly and Rick didn't need her to say anymore. He brought his hand cuffed hands that had just enough give for him to grab her tiny waist and slam her down on his upright steel rod.

"Daaaaammmmnn," he was finally home. He pumped her hard and fast on his dick while she leaned forward to leave a scratch trail from her red nails on his chest. "It.. is .. yours" he met each word with a rough thrust, "My cock … is yours… baby. You're the boss of this cock!"

"Oh my god… Riiiicckk, " she screamed, "Mmmm… say it again!" Every nerve ending in her body was on fire, ready to explode.

He had no idea how he did it but one of his hands popped free from its restraint. He vaguely made a mental note to email the manufacturer about the quality of his gift, but once he was free he grabbed a handful of his wife's beautiful locs and pulled her head back roughly, exposing her neck. He gave it a light bite as he continued his assault on her pussy. He then moved his hand to her neck and brought her face close to his.

Staring deep into her coffee eyes he brought her down hard with his other hand, "My… cock… is yours."

"You. Are. The. Boss. Of this. Cock," he watched as she began to lose all semblance of control and her face beautifully contorted in ecstasy. He was right there with her as he bit his bottom lip. "You. Feel. Me." He had to make her scream just one more time probably letting the whole hotel know that she was indeed the fucking queen he always knew she was, "You feel your cock baby?"

"God yes, Rick , I feel it, "she screamed, her hands searching for purchase in his sweaty unruly curls.

"What do you feel baby? Tell me what do you feel?" he was about to release the mother of all loads but not before….

"MY COCK! I FEEL IT BABY! I'M THE BOSS OF THIS COOOOOOCC…" Michonne couldn't finish her sentence much less her thought as her vision blurred and she began to see stars. She began to twitch in her throes of passion and Rick had to hold on for dear life as he felt the powerful surge of his release deep inside her. She collapsed backwards bringing him toppling over her still inside her pulsing the remains of his load into her. With every jerk of his cock her body answered with a responding clench around him.

"Fuuucckk... baby," he panted out of breath, "that was…. I don't even know what to call that,'' as he buried his face into the crook of her neck licking at the same sweet smelling spot now lathered in a sheen of sweat. "How do you feel, baby?"

After a few gulps of air to catch her breath Michonne gave a long sigh, "It feels good to be the boss."

The End


	3. Dirty Questions Answered Part 1

A/N: when you want the hard questions answered you'll get answers from weretheoneswhowrite and here's my Richonne answer to the age old question: Spit or Swallow

Gulp

Rick wiped his sweaty brow and panted out a few shallow breaths before he chuckled lightly.

"Well I guess that answers that question" as he looked down into her deep brown eyes that never left his clear blue orbs that eventually succumbed to the pleasure that was the Michonne Morning Wake Up call.


	4. A Quick & Dirty 100: Breathless

A/n: Not quite 100 words but it definitely was quick and I think just dirty enough for the weretheoneswhowrite and for you my dear readers.

BREATHLESS

Just when she thought it was over. When she could take a breath and maybe calm her heart... maybe enjoy just a little bit of oxygen to soothe her sore throat...  
"Where do you think you're going," he growled with a measured thrust, "there's no breaks in this game." She wanted to breathe damnit but the finger on her clit and the 8 inches in her dripping hot canal gave zero fucks about her breath... unless it was to scream his name.


	5. Dirty Questions Answered Part 2

**A/n: I think this is where I say NSFW! I was gonna change the title to thematsaidwelcome 's suggestion but then I'd give away what little plot this had. When weretheoneswhowrite ask a dirty question, I try to answer... Dirty. Hope you enjoy.**

 **What was the last dirty dream you had? Was I in it?**

"So what happened next?"

"Damn baby," Rick rasped, his voice husky with want, "How much further are you? I … mmm… don't think I … fuck… I don't think I'm gonna last much longer."

Michonne checked her onboard GPS while she adjusted in the driver's seat making sure to get the friction the swollen bud between her thighs had been screaming for since she heard Rick's voice on the car's speakerphone. She glanced at the digital time on her dashboard and let out a frustrated sigh.

"Another hour and a half baby," she moaned out, "There's no traffic so I'm pushing it to get to you."

Rick bit his bottom lip in annoyance and loosened the grip he had on his steel-hard erection. He cursed again, battling himself on whether to advise his wife to break every law imaginable to get to him or warn her to be a careful driver. He chose neither, "No more two week business trips," he growled.

"I know baby," Michonne whispered back, "I've never missed you more. Two weeks is definitely too long to be away from my family… from you." She knew the trip was important. Her boss never failed to impress upon her how very _important_ the trip was. That it was absolutely imperative that _she_ be the one to close this deal but all that importance ebbed away as each day her longing for her husband's touch grew. They had never spent so much as one night apart since the night before their wedding. They thought it would be fine.

Two weeks was nothing in the grand scheme of things really. Two weeks closer to a promotion for her. Two weeks would absolutely _fly_ by, they both assured each other. They were never more wrong. The second night in Rick woke up tangled on her side of the bed dry humping her pillow in his sleep. Michonne woke up in a cold sweat with her fingers buried deep inside her moist canal screaming his name as she came all over her hand. By the fifth night just seeing each other on FaceTime resulted in another restless night of endless dreams for each other.

By the seventh day, Michonne put every negotiating skill she had to the test and wrapped up the deal tidily. She stayed for exactly fifteen minutes to schmooze with the partners and made her way to the nearest car rental place. No waiting another night for the earliest flight she could get out of town, not for her, she was getting home. She called Rick to let him know she was on her way and he decided to keep her company on the last bit of her drive to him. He was so relieved and surprised that she was coming home early he couldn't help but drop the innocent thought that he had just had the "best dream" about her from tumbling out of his mouth. And now, here they were, him getting indescribably hard, and her putting the pedal to the metal with her thighs pressing rhythmically together at his description of the dream.

"I don't think this is a good idea," Rick ground out as he looked down at his state of affairs, "It's not gonna help my current situation."

"No baby," she pleaded, "you _need_ to tell me what happened after you said I came in wearing nothing but my red stilettos and a smile." Michonne drove on and felt another gush of moisture from her hot core, sure that she would have to have the rental car detailed before returning it. The seat was most assuredly as soaked as her panties were and who returns a car with sexy stains? Just the thought of her man dreaming about her made her wet beyond belief and he was going to finish his story to both of their detriment.

"Fuck, fine but, I think you need to pull over," an idea had occurred to Rick and he had to see it through, even though it was going to add even more time to her impending arrival.

Michonne didn't hesitate in doing what she was told. She didn't know where this was going but she liked it.

"You pulled over yet," Rick asked.

"Yes babe, I'm on the shoulder," she replied.

"Good, keep it running, but don't put your hazards on because I don't want some good Samaritan interruptin' us. Now where was I," he started a slow knowing rhythmic stroke on his engorged cock, "Right so, in you walk with nothing but your red stilettos, my favorite ones, and a smile. And you walk your gorgeous ass over to me and bend down in front of me."

"Are you wearing anything," she queried as she tried to picture the scene in her mind's eye.

"Nothin' but my cock in my hand, like it is now, and I'm not smilin'..." he replied.

Michonne moaned and Rick's cock twitched at the sound. He heard the mechanical whir of her seat moving, reclining probably, and asked, "You touching yourself yet baby?"

 _He knows me so well,_ she thought as she answered with a low affirmative hum. She didn't even bother to remove her arousal soaked underwear after she shimmied her skirt up to her waist. She just moved them to the side and was not surprised to find her clit swollen and begging for attention. She used her finger and made slow sensual circles on the hood urging her clit to come out and play.

"Mmmm, I think I can almost hear how wet you are," Rick moaned as he made his upward stroke a little tighter and passed his thumb over his head. A good amount of precum had accumulated there and he shivered as his thumb helped it along its way to lubricate his ministrations.

"So you're on your knees in front of me and you stick your sexy pink tongue out and lick the tip of my cock. You're staring at me with your big, beautiful, innocent looking eyes the whole time…sssss" he hissed at the vividness of his recall, "But you're teasin' me with every lick."

"I _do_ like to watch you when I have your cock in my mouth," she whispered and added another finger to tease herself.

"I know you do baby," he replied, "and I like watching you watch _me_ when I'm fucking your mouth…I can't wait to fuck your mouth when you get home. You gonna let me?"

"Mmm… yes, I'm going to let you fuck whereever you want to baby," she groaned out, "I missed you so much I'm going to need you in….mmm… every… way…," her clit had come out of its hiding place and with every swipe of her finger she felt her pussy clinch. She spread her leg over the console to the passenger seat and switched to her thumb on her clit so she could get her two longest fingers deep inside her moist canal.

"Shit baby, I hear your wet pussy now," Rick's cock was red and swollen in his stroking fist, "damn… so you finally stop teasing me and you started swallowing my dick real slow. I've never seen any one take my cock the way you do Chonne." And he had never. He remembered the first time he felt her throat muscles clench around his head. He had come like a shot out of hell that surprised the both of them in it's quickness. No wonder that was what he dreamed about. Her blow jobs were what wet dreams were created for, in his estimation.

"Then," he continued, "I reached down and pulled you up."

"Mmm. What? You stopped me," Michonne's rhythm faltered for a moment from the curious turn in Rick's retelling.

"Yeah because I needed to taste you myself. I wanted your pussy in my mouth. I wanted to suck your clit until you exploded on my face. So I pulled you up and laid back and put you where I needed you. And god … you tasted just as sweet in my dream as you do in real life baby."

Michonne bit her lip at the imagery of her riding Rick's face into kingdom come and her fingers and thumb picked up speed.

"And while I was sucking on your juicy clit," Rick felt his balls tighten as he continued, "You leaned back and started stroking my cock… and …mmmm oh fuck baby it felt so good. I felt your pussy dripping down my face and your hand on my cock… oh goddammm…"

"Yessss, Rick, keep going baby. I'm almost… oh … unghmmm... did you do that tongue thing I like," Michonne could feel the rising tide of her orgasm shooting from her center.

"Oh yeah baby, my tongue went from your clit to your hole and I kept dipping into it. I spread your pussy a little wider so I could get every… single… drop… of … you…oh jeessus… I'm so fucking hard right now baby…I want your pussy on my dick… so I can fuck you so hard…" Rick was losing all composure, blurring his dream with the hard reality of his basest desires. He fisted his cock tighter and used his other hand to pull on his tightening balls. He could hear Michonne fucking herself and from the sounds of it she was giving it to herself almost as hard and fast as he wanted to.

"Rick… uuunnggghhh… Rick, I want your cock in me soooooo… fucking… bad right now," her leg was on the dashboard as she slumped to get into her pussy at a better angle, "I'm so wet right now and fucking myself so hard right now wishing you were here."

"I know baby… I hear it… and for now … it _is_ me. I'm fucking you. I'm so deep in you baby," Rick stroked himself faster,"I'm in your tight pussy and I'm going to make you fuckin scream for me," his fist got a little tighter as it engulfed his bulbous head, "It's me hitting that spot… unggh.. that fucking spot… just… like you like it…oh Michonne… how many fingers are you usin' for me baby… tell me baby… how many?"

"Chriiiiiisssttt… Four…. Riiiicckk," she was pumping into herself harder now with all the vigor of her man, "But it's not enough… ooooohhhh… fuck me Rick…" she pressed her thumb onto her fully exposed clit and had to put her other leg on the steering wheel as she ground into her hand.

"Yes baby use your whole hand. Fuck that tight pussy. It's me… oohh god, I'm fucking you so hard … I'm gonna… damn baby… come for me baby… I need to hear you," sweat rolled down Rick's face as his strokes became erratic in speed. He always needed to make sure his woman got hers in before he did, and whether he was present or not that wasn't ever going to change.

Michonne's longest finger grazed that special spot Rick referred to earlier and she let out a keening wail. Having found it, she wasn't going to relinquish her position for anything. She continued to pound into it and felt herself go over the brink, "Baby, oohhh baby I'm hitting the spot… I'm fucking… hitting iiiiiitttttt… OHHHHH MYYYY GOOODDDD…RICKRICKRICK!"

Hearing his name come out of her mouth so maniacally sent Rick straight to the brink,"That's it baby… that's it… say my …. Fuckin' name!" he roared as he watched the white spout of his come explode onto his stomach and spill over his hand. He milked his cock to the sounds of her mewling as she came down from her own orgasm.

"Shit…baby… you ok," he asked breathlessly, "You still with me?"

"Mmmmm….I'm still...mmm… with you," she moaned as she gingerly pulled her leg from the top of the steering wheel, "I'm just trying to catch my breath."

"Yeah, me too," he chuckled quietly and gathered himself to clean up the mess he made.

Michonne pulled her skirt down and situated herself with as much composure as a woman with pussy soaked fingers and a damp car seat could. She put the car into gear and maneuvered her way off the road shoulder.

"Ok babe," she sighed out, "Only about an hour left. That gives you enough time, right?"

"Yeah babe, more than enough time," Rick answered knowingly.

"Good," she smiled, "Leave my stilettos at the bottom of the stairs."

"Baby, they're already there."


	6. Two Roads Diverged: WS Excerpts

**A/N: These were my contribution** **for my second collaboration written with the phenomenal women of weretheoneswhowrite; thematsaidwelcome79 and cranesinthesky. This story holds a special place in my heart as the prompt inspired me to become a little nostalgic and made me think of the Robert Frost poem The Road Not Taken. From there my parts of the story just came so easily and when added with the inspired writings of my fellow writers it made for a really beautiful and sweet love story that I was so proud to be a part of.**

 **Go over to the weretheoneswhowrite to read the complete story Two Roads Diverged. It's really a special piece that I'm proud to have played my part in.**

 *****WSWSWSWSWSWS*****

CHAPTER ONE: ONE TRAVELER LONG I STOOD

The squeak of the marker on the whiteboard at the front of the classroom was halted by sound of the door opening. Carol halted her writing and swiveled her head to see who had the guts to interrupt her class. The grey-eyed teacher may have been demure in stature but she was a highly respected alumnus of the high school with a reputation for sharp wit and an even sharper temper. Her famous catch phrase, "Don't let the pixie cut fool y'all. Cutting you down to my size is only a razor's edge away" was well known to many a wayward teenage who tried to test their boundaries as they were wont to do at that age.

As she turned her attention to the opening door her gaze fell fleetingly on one of those very same wayward teens. Her favorite actually, though he probably didn't know it, she sighed at the sight of the top of his curly brown head. Probably because he wasn't accustomed to being anyones favorite anything was what endeared him to her in the first place. Carol Peletier had seen many a sad story come and go through her classroom through the years and the town being the size it was, his story was commonplace knowledge to not only the high school faculty but the townspeople in general.

The Grimes family did not do themselves any favors either, what with the patriarch in and out of county jail and the mama in and out of the local bar. The eldest, Jeff had made his escape from the small town life and the scandalous name early, joining the army, leaving the youngest, Rick to fend for himself against their father's rage and their mother's notorious promiscuity. It was the fighting spirit in Rick that Carol saw that drew her to him. That grit in his piercing blue stare that made her want to protect the boy. She'd broken up many an altercation, results of the kids hair trigger temper, and had spent enough time giving detention to him to know there was more than the usual sullen bad boy façade he had cultivated over years of parental abuse and neglect. She had fought and won for him to be put in her accelerated English class against the wishes of her boss, Principal Horvath, who didn't want to look past the boys frequent transgressions with his fellow sidekick Shane.

"Those boys are trouble Carol," she remembered from their heated debate, "Especially Grimes! My shoulder still ain't right from that last brawl him and the Walsh boy caused in the cafeteria last month!"

"He's got talent Dale," she had repeated her constant argument, "I've spent time with him. I've gotten to know him. I CAN'T… scratch that… I WON'T let you discount him because of what you think of his family… his mother in particular." Knowing there was a story behind the principal's clear disdain for Rick didn't just account because of youthful shenanigans she pushed that button to get what she wanted.

"Fine," the beleaguered principal bit back out to her knowing he wasn't going to win and not prepared to face his own demons with regard to the Grimes family issues, "But don't mind the 'I told you so' when the boy ends up in an orange jumpsuit to match his daddy's."

Convincing the principal was a cakewalk compared to convincing Rick to be in her "nerds for turds" class but she fought him just as hard, finally winning him over with hard talk of "finally proving this town and those turd nerds wrong" about him. Rick never seemed convinced he belonged but Carol knew better. Especially after reading some of his heart wrenching, and possibly autobiographical, short stories filled with the smashed mirrors and smashed hearts of broken trust. She was convinced she was undoubtedly right about Rick being far different from his father, and she was going to make sure he made it out of this town alive.

"Miss Peletier, sorry for the interruption but I've got a new student that transferred in today," Principal Horvath said quietly as he entered the room. Carol thought it was strange that a new student was personally brought to her by the principal but she got distracted enough by the young beauty that followed in after him.

"Hello, I'm Michonne Renaud," the voice coming from the young woman seemed to hold the confidence and a maturity that usually came with years of experience.

 _You walked into the room and now my heart has been stolen_

 _You took me back in time to when I was unbroken_

 _Now you're all I want_

 _And I knew it from the very first moment_

 _'Cause a light came on when I heard that song and I want you to sing it again_

Rick's cerulean eyes shot up toward the door, the smooth, soft voice grabbing his attention instantly. It wasn't just the clipped northern accent that brought his head up from his standard position at the back of the classroom, it was the melodic lilt he heard in those four words. Like a song he wanted to hear on repeat until the tape wore out, and he hadn't even seen the singer yet. He wanted to lean to the side a bit to see what housed that musically timbered voice but his vision was blocked by the ubiquitous, flowing brown curls of the head in front of him. The compulsion to adjust his seat was overridden by his pride though. Couldn't let these nerds see him have even a modicum of care for the new addition to the class. His disdain for his fellow classmates was well known and he would see it as a sign of weakness if he thought they would witness him actually participating with them in their curiosity.

"Well you don't see _that_ everyday," Rick heard the barely restrained whisper of the young man two rows ahead of him, "and damn sure not round these parts anyway." Rick grimaced and rolled his eyes with not a little bit of jealousy that that asshole Terry had an unobstructed view of what he was so desperate to see. The golden boy of their entire class, with his smooth tan skin and designer clothes (that he boasted to everyone about buying in the big, fancy city), was Rick's own personal nemesis.

It wasn't because Terry was popular, either. Rick was by no means an outcast, having good looks and a crew of his own. No, it was the guy's pure smugness. The way he acted like he was definitely better than this school, better than this town, better than Rick in every way. Terry's family had the money, lived on the good side of town and the world was his to grab by the balls because he had the means by which to do the grabbing. Being class president was an easy achievement that he felt was owed to him. Being star of the basketball team was only what was _supposed_ to be his position. Everything came easy for Terry and that was just something Rick couldn't abide, having never had anything come easy for him. Not his second hand clothes that he worked part-time at his best friend Daryl's family owned garage to buy. Not his beat-up pickup truck that he rebuilt himself from various parts at that same garage.

Definitely not the peek he was still trying to get of the new girl that Terry _easily_ had full view of. It made Rick hate him just a little bit more.

"Well she's certainly not from around here, or even this state from the sound of her," the headful of flowing brown curls turned to Rick so he could just manage a glimpse of the new girl's body in profile. And _what a body_ it was, from what he could see from his obscured vantage point. He managed to glimpse the lithe body in fitted army green pants sporting multiple cargo pockets cinched at the waist with a chain link belt. His eyes travelled up past what appeared to be an ass of a goddess to a sliver of smooth chocolate skin, barely hidden by a cropped top and matching jacket. Just as he was about to glimpse the face he'd wanted to see since hearing her voice, Principal Horvath moved to continue the quiet talk with .

"And what's that on her bag? Hmph Black Girl Magic? What the heck is that," Lori continued her assessment, flipping her wavy brown hair over her shoulder in a gesture that annoyed Rick more than usual, "you think she's from New Orleans or somewhere they do voodoo or something?"

"Jesus Lori, where do you get that shit from?" Rick snapped a little harsher than he meant. "Even I know that has nothing to do with voodoo and I don't even have four fifty-two-inch TV's in my house."

"Clearly that's not for you to understand," Sasha, sitting in front of Lori called back, "It's a sista thing. Why don't you quiet down, turn on some Taylor Swift or something and let us handle the intros from here ok?"

"Jesus, why're they always trying to make it seem like I can't understand," Lori turned with a fake plea in her eyes, "I listen to Chance the Rapper, I even rocked boxer braids a couple of times if you remember Sasha."

"Yeah, and I told your Kardashian wannabe ass you looked like an idiot then and you sound like one now," Sasha retorted immediately.

" _Quiet._ All of you." Carol suppressed a chuckle at the clapback her student delivered to the other as she studied the tablet Principal Horvath had given her with the new student's past school records. She wasn't easily impressed, but as she scrolled through the glowing teacher's reports and A+ after A+ she had to give the girl her respectful due. Class President, AP courses in both English and Applied Sciences, Calculus, _shit she should be already enrolled in University, there's got to be a story there,_ she wondered as she looked up to appraise the young woman. _A beauty too,_ she sighed as her analytical mind already tried to gauge where her new student's place would be in the new environment. She was met with deep thoughtful eyes that looked straight back at her with a boldness and confidence that women years older hadn't been able to achieve. Carol saw that she wouldn't need to convince this one of her potential. This young woman knew what she was worth already and, based on her school records alone, wasn't going to let this stop in the little town be any kind of hindrance.

"Well alright Michonne, very pleased to meet you," Carol started, "I see that you're probably way ahead of our current curriculum, but this is an Advanced English course so you shouldn't feel like we're too far behind."

"No ma'am, I already saw you were starting the poem by Robert Frost on the board," Michonne replied back, "I've already written a dissertation paper using it to show the impact of choices in correlation with the argument of fate versus destiny earlier this year. I can email it to you if you want. It's one of my favorite poems though, so I don't mind going back over it."

"Well, I'd certainly love to read that paper Michonne," Carol did an internal somersault that she had only done once when she read Rick's short stories for the first time. It was rare to get a really promising student who truly loved to learn and the magic of the written word. Having TWO, though? Well that was just lightning in a bottle, and Carol couldn't wait to explore their potential. With that in mind she turned back to her class to see how she could arrange Michonne's placement and was slightly disappointed that the only empty seat was next to the cocky golden boy Terry. _No matter, this girl's gonna have them all falling over her anyway_ she surmised as she peeped Terry's smug expression. The egotistical kid looked as if he just _knew_ that he was in prime position, as was his due, to take a first crack at the new diamond amongst them.

"If you'd like to have a seat over there," Carol gestured to the empty seat. Rick seethed at his position at the back seat, but his annoyance lasted only momentarily because finally he was able to see the face that came with the voice that sang out to him earlier. _What a face it was._ He watched her make her way to the seat in front of Terry and was briefly taken aback as their eyes met. Crystal blue clashed with roasted coffee for what may have been a second but felt like a lifetime. Rick could see them walking down the street hand in hand, could feel her laughter as he tickled her on a couch, he saw them dancing slowly staring into each other eyes just like they were at the moment. He saw her eyes crinkle at the corner as if in confusion before she turned swiftly away to sit in the chair giving him the back of her beautiful head to ponder. Rick immediately felt the loss of the connection he could swear they shared a moment before.

"Well hey girl," Terry leaned forward as Michonne bent to retrieve her binder out of her bag, "I'm Terry and I'm really all you need to know for now."

Michonne scoffed lightly and turned to give Terry a full appraisal, "Well, Terry, I'm Michonne and I think I'll be deciding who I _need_ to know if that's ok with you. I think I _need_ to actually finish sitting down before you feel the _need_ to speak to me. We done with telling me what I _need?_ Good."

Rick's bark of laughter was barely heard over the loud guffaws of the rest of the class seeing Terry put in his place so succinctly. Sasha leaned over with tears in her eyes from laughter, "Girrrrlll, I haven't heard a read like that since … well never. I'm Sasha," offering her hand to Michonne who leaned forward to take it, "and if that's what we have to look forward to it would be my pleasure to welcome you!" Sasha's laugh was infectious and Michonne couldn't help but to return her smile.

"Well I don't know if you should look forward to that particular kind of clapback but thanks for the offer," Michonne flashed her megawatt smile as Rick just continued to listen, hoping she never stopped speaking.

Lori glanced back and forth between Rick's piercing stare and the new girl, seeing that she had lost all of Rick's attention, a position she was not used to at all. Annoyed, yet doing her best to mask it, she made her play for the new girl. While Carol went back to the white board to finish writing the poem in full Lori leaned forward, strategically blocking Rick's view, and whispered loudly, "Hey giirrrrl, I'm Lori and I love your dreadlocks."

"Locs," Michonne replied without turning her head.

"I.. I'm … excuse me?," Lori sputtered.

"They're called locs. If you're referring to my hair and there is nothing to "Dread" about it. It grows out of my scalp same as yours," a hard edge to Michonne's voice that got the attention of everyone around her immediately.

"I… I'm sorry, I… uhh I just thought that's what that style was called," Lori said a little taken aback by the icy tone in Michonne's voice.

"Well, then I suggest you read up on styles before you go throwing out words you don't know the meaning of. This _is_ an advanced English course right," Michonne finally deigned to turn and address Lori, "Then I guess you should know the power behind the words you use before you use them."

Carol took that as her cue to diffuse the situation and cleared her throat loudly, "Alright class, let's have a look at the assignment and have a think about the power behind the words on the board." Michonne thought she was being reprimanded until she caught the quick wink from Carol's grey eyes.

 _ **The Road Not Taken**_

 _BY_ _ROBERT FROST_

 _Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,_

 _And sorry I could not travel both_

 _And be one traveler, long I stood_

 _And looked down one as far as I could_

 _To where it bent in the undergrowth;_

 _Then took the other, as just as fair,_

 _And having perhaps the better claim,_

 _Because it was grassy and wanted wear;_

 _Though as for that the passing there_

 _Had worn them really about the same,_

 _And both that morning equally lay_

 _In leaves no step had trodden black._

 _Oh, I kept the first for another day!_

 _Yet knowing how way leads on to way,_

 _I doubted if I should ever come back._

 _I shall be telling this with a sigh_

 _Somewhere ages and ages hence:_

 _Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—_

 _I took the one less traveled by,_

 _And that has made all the difference._

Rick finally stopped staring holes into the back of Michonne's head to review the writing on the board. Something resonated in him as he read the words. They seemed to jump and come to life in front of him. He barely heard Lori as she tried to gain some sympathy from him with her whispered admonishments of "stuck up bitch" and "who does she think she is". He was thinking of the road he felt he was about to set his feet on. Something was about to change with the introduction of Michonne Renaud.

 _I swear that every word you sing, you wrote them for me_

 _Like it was a private show, I know you never saw me_

 _When the lights come on and I'm on my own_

 _Will you be there to sing it again?_

 _Could I be the one you talk about in all your stories_

 _Can I be him?_

Song credit: "Can I Be Him" performed by James Arthur

Songwriters: Richard James Parkhouse / George Henry Tizzard / James Andrew Arthur / Negin Djafari

 **CHAPTER 4: HOW WAY LEADS ON TO WAY**

 _THE DEAD HEAT OF AUGUST_

SPLASH!

"Hey you kids! No jumping off the shallow end," Michonne yelled at the rambunctious bunch of tweens from her lifeguard's perch, "I don't want to have to ban your behinds… again."

"Oh come on Miss Chonne," Lenny, the ginger headed ringleader whined, "You can't ban us from the pool…in the dead of summer! I'd melt away!" His not quite maturing voice cracked under the whine.

"Melt? Boy I'm surprised your little red tail hasn't spontaneously burst into flames already," Sasha retorted before throwing a beach ball back into the water.

"You know that ain't right Sasha," the freckle faced boy returned, not in the least bit perturbed by the ginger hate he was receiving, "You know my future nieces and nephews gon' be just as red as me so maybe you should worry 'bout them sp… spon… sporatiously burnin' up."

"Boy, if you don't go find a seat somewhere," Sasha rolled her eyes making a point of ignoring the youngin's quip about whatever future familial ties she'd have because of her erratic relationship with his big brother. She walked over to him with her best menacing look slowly stalking him like a tiger with her hands reached out in tickle formation. The boy took off like a shot bringing his small crew of young friends laughing behind him over to the deep end of the pool.

"Lenny! No running so close to the pool," she yelled after his retreating sunburnt back. Sasha shook her head and turned to climb the ladder to join Michonne, "I don't even know what I'm worried about," she said as she took her seat on the platform, "His big red head is so hard if he fell the only thing that would be cracked would be the pavement."

Michonne snickered at her friend while keeping an eagle eye on the pools in her jurisdiction. She and Sasha had proven themselves earlier in the summer to the Lifeguard Captain, Jesus, when they both handled a group of rowdy out of towners that thought the small town country pools were easy pickings. Jesus let off some well-timed roundhouse kicks, Sasha some brute force punches and Michonne thought fast, calling the cops right before joining the fray with a few well-placed groin kicks of her own. The whole event ended with Michonne and Sasha having their pick of shifts for the rest of the summer and the full respect of every bystander at the pools that day. They mostly chose the main pool with one of the 3 wading pools to avoid having to deal with the screaming cacophony hell that were the site's kiddie pools on the other side of the facility.

"What are you over there giggling about," Sasha said, "Don't think I'm finished with you. Just because you get to be _Miss Chonne_ and I'm just Sasha round here don't mean that you're not going to finish telling me how you're going to tell him."

"And when were you going to tell me you and Abe got back together," Michonne replied expertly dodging her friend's inquisitive questioning, "From the sounds of it y'all have skipped to the altar and already at the family planning stage."

"Pssshhh, if I were you Chonne, I'd do the same as I do Lenny's big brother… ignore the bullshit coming out of that child's mouth," Sasha came back, "Evasion is not gonna work for you today. How. Are. You. Going. To. Tell. Rick."

Michonne sighed at the mention of her boyfriend's name. "He hasn't even been accepted yet Sasha. Maybe I won't need to tell him anything."

"Yeah, maybe, but you're going to wait until he gets some random college acceptance letter… From a college that he won't remember applying to because … wait for it," Sasha paused for her usual dramatic effect, "He NEVER applied to them in the first place."

Michonne gazed out to watch the ripples in the sparkling clear waters of the pool, noting the iridescent sheen covering the top in various spots. She'd have to tell the pool maintenance guys to adjust the chlorine on the overnight to take care of mixture of sunblock and god knows whatever was causing the slick pockets of oily residue on the pools. She scoffed at herself, even her own mind was trying to evade Sasha's questioning.

She knew that she didn't have a plan in mind yet. She was just going on a hope and a prayer at this point that her stubborn boyfriend would see that she was trying to do what was best for him. It had been hard enough getting him to even take the SAT's back in their junior year. She just couldn't see how he didn't see his own potential. The potential that both she and Miss Peletier saw bursting at the seams from his thought provoking essays to him actually beating her own very high SAT score. His self-deprecation was so instilled in him for so long by not only his community but his domestic life that the only future he saw was one where Michonne left him to go on to do great things. Meanwhile, he had resigned himself to being the bad boy townie mechanic that would live and die on the wrong side of the tracks.

Nope, not today Satan, was Michonne's response to his bleak outlook. She knew he thought she was too good for him. It went unsaid that the pedestal he had her up on was so high as to cause a nosebleed. It didn't help that her mother's dismissive attitude towards him and their relationship in general showed its ugly face every time he came by to their home to pick Michonne up for a date or to hang out quietly in their den. Snide remarks were part and parcel for her mother's treatment of Rick. Referring to Rick's truck as the "Hillbillymobile" and then following up with a supposedly happenstance remark about Terry's smooth and _silent_ Audi parked a few houses away. "Won't hear that car coming from eight miles away," was the last straw that made Michonne clap back with "Yeah but you can hear Terry bragging about it from ten. So there's that."

Rick took Michonne's mother's derisiveness in stride as he'd done with everyone else he encountered in his short life. He was just happy to be able to bask in Michonne's shine while he had her. He'd have put up with anything short of her mother barring him from their premises to be able to see his girl for any amount of time. The pride he felt being able to say he had her on and by his side was worth it. He even thought she felt a little bit of pride of her own when he'd look down at her during one of their increasingly heavy make out sessions and saw not only desire in her eyes but the same adoration he knew his eyes reflected back at her.

That same adoration that made her, unbeknownst to him, hatch a plan with her teacher, Rick's only other cheerleader, to fill out all the college applications she had in duplicate. Miss Peletier went so far as to not only write her own glowing recommendation but wrangled several from her fellow staff members and even a begrudging one from Principal Horvath. The teacher even had the stroke of genius to supply one of Rick's short stories in lieu of the personal essay that each application required knowing the semi-autobiographical prose showcased not only the young man's talent but also showed his spirit. A spirit and mind that any university "would count themselves lucky to have amongst their student body".

Michonne knew she would have to tell him eventually but she also didn't want to risk what she had dubbed in her mind as "the perfect summer" with him either. Even after the debacle of getting her mother to agree to let her work at the pools instead of with her at the college for the summer, she knew that her summer days spent watching the waters and summer nights spent with Rick would go down as one of those "best days of your life" times she heard about constantly. Their daily routine started from her first day at the pools where he'd meet her when her shift ended and go to the local pizzeria to hang out with their friends or take a short drive to the train tracks that divided their town to be alone. They saw each other every day and instead of the pall of boredom falling on them, like Michonne's mother hoped, every day spent together brought them closer.

Those secluded drives were also bringing them closer to another inevitable turning point in their relationship. They both knew that with each little moan that they brought out of each other from the backseat of Rick's truck… with every tentative caress as they slowly rounded the bases on Michonne's den couch… with every cold shower they each had to take after another day of putting off the inevitable they were approaching a pinnacle that they both fantasized and consciously awaited. Like Christmas morning to an anxious toddler, they both knew Santa was coming but they had to stay off the naughty list. For Rick that meant not rushing what he saw as the ultimate prize that he had to earn. For Michonne that meant putting up with Rick's steadfast southern gentleman mentality and his "one day" to finally come. A day that would most likely be postponed to the unforeseeable future once she finally admitted to him what she had done. She grimaced at this "first world teenage angst" problem of having her awesome boyfriend's chivalry become a roadblock to her desires. Suddenly, a cackle cut through her revelries and generic poolside noise.

"Ooohh sweet Black baby Jesus," Sasha breathed out, "Is that…"

"Damn," Michonne turned to the source of the piercing distraction, "It sure is."

Michonne had only the briefest encounters with her, but she definitely recognized Rick's mother clad in a bikini meant for a younger, more nubile body hanging on the arm of the town's other notorious drunk, Merle Dixon. From the sound of her laughter and the few stumbling footsteps she took Michonne could tell that his mother was on one of her benders. Being with Merle, she could only surmise that it probably wasn't only cheap whisky that had her trying to shimmy to the music that played over the pool's sound system.

"Shit," Michonne uttered as she made her way down the ladder to get over to the couple that had begun to gyrate obscenely to the Santana guitar riff of "Wild Thoughts". She tried to make her way over to them quickly, noting that cell phone cameras were already out. She hoped upon every hope that she could make it on time before anything more embarrassing to Rick could be recorded and sent out into the ether of the internet or worse, directly to Rick himself.

She almost halted in her mission when she saw Lori and her clique already on high bitch alert giggling and recording from their cabana. Michonne subconsciously shook her head at the unfortunate reality that even the town's pool had a dividing line between social classes. The rich got prime status with several cabanas on one side while the general public had to make do with towels on the grass or the lounge chairs that went like hot cakes on Sunday mornings during the after church breakfast rush at the local diner. Her read on Lori 's entire ass had to wait though because Merle had just begun to bump and grind on Rick's mother's behind and that spectacle had to be stopped at all costs.

"Erm… Mrs. Grimes," Michonne said approaching the couple like a lion tamer approaching a particularly skittish feline, "Mrs. Grimes… MRS. GRIMES!" Michonne got louder with every intonation of the woman's name.

"Wha…who the hell is… oh hi there Mi—Michaela," the woman stared up glassy eyed, finally cognizant that someone was calling her out, "The name's Jessie. Mrs. Grimes is dead and laughing in hell right now." She guffawed at her own bad joke while Michonne closed her eyes and counted to ten.

"You know this gal," Merle's lascivious leer down Michonne's body in her red lifeguard swimsuit did not endear him any more than the sleeveless confederate flag adorned t-shirt he was sporting.

"Sorta baby… if my boy thought enougha me to actually introduce her the last time she was over," she sniffed, "He usually makes her stay outside in his truck if he thinks I'm home."

Michonne's eyes widened in surprise as that was precisely what Rick did whenever they ventured to his small house on the outskirts of town. "I'll be in and out baby. No reason for you to have to get out," was his usual response when she made to leave the vehicle. She always wanted to tell him she didn't care about the state of his house but the more she got to know him she realized it wasn't the house but the people in it that he was shielding her from. Exhibit A was in front of her, with speech slurred to be damned and looking just this side of road kill with a Confederate Possum sidepiece.

"It's Michonne actually Mrs. Grimes," Michonne summoned all her patience to deal with the woman, "And I was just wondering if you wanted to come with me inside for a bottle of water."

"Well, Michooonnnne," the older woman drew out her name in mock snobbery, "As you can see, we got us all we need to drank right here," she said pointing to the half empty six pack beer carton on the ground nearby.

"Well alcohol and glass bottles are prohibited here," Sasha had finally caught up to them, "So you're going to have enjoy your drinks elsewhere or come inside like my colleague said."

"Oh, well ain't they uppity," Merle sneered out, "And you mean to tell me that your Ricky boy got him a taste for Nubian princesses? Well I'll be damned."

Sasha and Michonne were already done at uppity, but Rick's name flying out of the man's mouth was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. Sasha got on her walkie for backup security and positioned herself into fighting stance for Merle while Michonne put a firm hand around Rick's mother's forearm to lead her away.

"Get your hands offa me," Jessie yelled, "You think just cuz you have my boy wrapped around your little finger…! Got him thankin' he's someone special …you have the right to boss me around?"

"I'm sorry Mrs. Grimes, I'm just trying to help you out," Michonne pleaded quietly as she struggled to get the woman to calm down.

"Help me," Jessie scoffed, "Like you trying to help my boy leave me by myself? Think I don't know about you and his plans? I may not be all smart like you all but I can read!"

Michonne stood aghast at the woman's outburst, bewildered at each statement coming from his mother's mouth coupled with the stench of old liquor fumes.

"I seen it! I seen the big ol' thick envelope come in the mail just today," Rick's mother continued on her rant, "Some fancy college name all over it. Y'all think I don't know he's tryin' ta leave me like his no good daddy!"

 _Fuuuuckk_ was the collective thought that went through both Sasha and Michonne's minds. Time officially froze when they both heard the questioning words, "Mama? Mama what are you doin' here?"

Rick had a sheen of sweat from running the four blocks straight to the pools, having decided that driving from the mechanic shop would have taken too long. Normally he would have ignored a text from Lori but his screen had shown it was a video message and the preview picture showing his mother in the same vicinity as Michonne set a fire under his ass to get there as soon as possible.

Jessie turned at the sound of her son's voice and visibly crumbled at the sight of him, "Baby! Baby why you want to leave your mama baby? Huh baby? Why? You said I was the only one you'd stay for and help. What am I gonna do without you baby?"

"Mama," Rick pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to calm his mother down, "Ain't nobody tryna leave you. But Imma need to know what you're doin' here, with _him_." Rick couldn't hold the disgust out of his voice when he referred to Merle's presence. He knew that Merle's younger brother Daryl was probably on his way right behind Rick so he didn't think he had to worry about him.

"Well what it look like Ricky boy," Merle made the mistake of addressing Rick directly, "Jessie May here came by to holler at me, said she was celebratin' her boy getting into college! As you know, I got me a soft spot for ol' blondie here so I obliged her."

Rick ground his teeth and kept his ice cold blue stare on his mother, "Mama I'd like to take you outta here. Now please."

Jessie recognized the firm tone that Rick used when he was either holding her hair back while she got rid of whatever liquor she had stuffed her body with or when he had to come pick her up from the local watering hole where she had passed out on numerous occasions. She knew it would do her no good to fight him. She still looked at him pleadingly as she took a small step toward him but the imperceptible shake of his head told her not to get much closer. The look he gave her made her divert her way to her ratty beach bag to gather her things and await further instructions from her son.

Daryl came running in with two security staff to the awkward standoff and skidded to a halt next to Rick. He took note of his shit for brains older brother and Rick's mother and already knew the story without having to ask. Rick felt Daryl next to him and only held his hand out without a word. Daryl placed his car keys into it.

"Let's go Mama," Rick said as he took off the uniform shirt he wore and put it over her shoulders, "Let's get you home."

Michonne and Sasha stood in silence along with half of the town that was at the pool as Rick turned without so much as a glance at his girlfriend.

"Rick," Michonne whispered quietly.

He stopped instantly but didn't turn to look back. All she could see was the red rising from under his white t-shirt to his stiffened neck.

"Later," was all he said in response and walked his stumbling mother past the small crowd. Past the stares and whispered snickers with his back straight and head held high daring the world to utter something loud enough for him to hear.

"C'mon man," Daryl shoved his brother roughly in front of him, "Wait 'til Pa sees your sorry ass.

"Ah man, come on why we gotta go to the garage for," Merle whined sounding like a boy half his age.

"Because that's where my bike is and I don't trust ya to get home safe, high as you are right now," Daryl mumbled as they made their way out. He turned to give Michonne and Sasha an apologetic nod and shoved Merle again to make a hastier retreat.

"Alright, show's over," Sasha turned to the assorted crowd that had gathered, "And you, Low Budget Kim K, hand it over," she said as she marched over to Lori's cabana.

"Hand what over Sasha," Lori flipped her sunglasses down from their perch on top of her head, "I know you don't mean my phone."

"Ding, ding, ding! You do understand the words coming out of my mouth," Sasha stood her ground with her hand out, "You don't want me to have to _take it_ from you. Please Lori, _make me take it._ " Michonne didn't need to have x-ray vision to know a flash of fear was behind those big dark lenses of Lori's when she took all of three seconds to hand over her phone.

"You spiteful bitch, you already sent the video out to a whole WhatsApp group," Sasha exclaimed, "What is _wrong_ with you?"

Michonne couldn't control the rage that had spiked through her when she stalked over to Lori, practically blinded by it. It took Sasha and the two security guys all they had in them to hold her back from ripping every single wavy curl out of Lori's head.

"You girls get out of here," Jesus had arrived and assessed the situation in the blink of an eye, "Like Sasha said show's over."

"You can't kick me out of here. My daddy will have all of your asses fired by morning," Lori screamed indignantly.

"Well we ain't fired today," Jesus retorted, "So go on and get. Oh and Lori, make sure you let your Daddy know that if he needs to talk to me that I've got some very interesting security cam video from a few nights ago. A couple of night trespassers. Some girls skinny dipping, smoking some funny looking cigarettes with a few very older looking dudes. You know anything about that? Think he'd be interested in that too? Since he'll be in the firin' mood?"

Lori froze mid-rant. She turned on her heel to her friends, started gathering up her stuff, and made a show of being righteously indignant as they hustled their way out.

"I knew splurgin' for night vision security cams would be money well spent," Jesus chuckled before he turned to his favorite team, "You guys ok?"

Sasha spoke for them both, "Nothing we couldn't handle Cap."

Michonne tried to control her rapid breathing, counting up to forty before she felt her pulse calm down and the rage subsided.

"Yeah I know. Nothing my dream team can't handle," Jesus replied, "Michonne, you … want to clock out a little early? To handle the rest of your business?"

After a beat Michonne answered, "No," she sighed, "I'm going to finish my shift Cap, if that's ok with you."

Sasha looked at her friend and again answered for them both, "We got this Jesus. You can head on back in and we'll see you at clock out time."

Jesus took one last look at Michonne and figured it was ok to leave her be. He knew that she was a normally even-tempered person so there was no way that she'd let this event rile her up enough not to get the job done. He was always impressed with the young woman who always had her shit together and had no doubt that the rest of the day would be fine now that the general riff raff had dispersed.

Michonne turned and walked silently back to the ladder that lead to her lifeguard post. Sasha followed just as quietly behind but not before glaring at anybody brave enough to make eye contact her, silently daring them to challenge her with one more bit of trouble. Not one person rose to the challenge, choosing instead to get back to the business of enjoying the rest of their sunny time at the pool.

"Man, I better tell Abe to come get Sasha later," Lenny observed quietly, "She's gonna be on a rampage and he loves that girl when she's riled up."

The music continued to play over the sound system and the happy splashing sound of summer fun continued around Michonne as she sat and wondered if the routine so long established would hold and her boyfriend would be waiting for her like he always did when her shift ended.

 **CHAPTER 5: TELLING THIS WITH A SIGH**

 _SAME HOT AUGUST EVENING_

"Erm… so call me later ok Mich," Sasha said not expecting a response from Michonne who had not spoken a word for the last two hours of their shift. They had packed up their stuff, showered and changed in silence in the locker rooms reserved for the staff in eerie silence. Sasha knew with every hesitant step toward the back entrance to the parking lot Michonne was hoping that Rick was going to be out there in his usual spot. Sasha helped her friend again as she paused at the double metal doors and made a silent wish when she pushed the lever to get the doors open.

The audible breath of relief issued from both young women when there he stood, leaning on the side of his truck, one foot on the side panel of the driver's side with his head down still in the white t-shirt and grease smeared jeans from earlier in the day. He didn't look up from his stance but a slight stiffening in his posture alerted Michonne that he knew she was headed toward him. She turned and gave a small wave to Sasha who mouthed a silent "Good Luck" before walking to her own car.

Michonne steeled herself for the inevitable confrontation and had everything she wanted to say memorized in her head as she walked up to Rick's slouching form. Before she could utter a word however, he looked up the moment she was within a foot of him and everything she wanted to say flew right out of her mind. The laser focus of his cerulean stare didn't hold the anger she had armored herself for. Instead she was caught off balanced with his red rimmed eyes and tears that had been shed and were filling up again even as she stood there.

"Oh baby," she ran the short way into his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him down to her shoulder. Rick shuddered as he returned her embrace letting the tears flow from him. Tears of shame at Michonne having finally met the woman who had brought him into this world. Tears of anger that he couldn't have prevented the clash of his two worlds. Tears of fear that everything good in him was in his arms and all that good he felt he didn't rightly deserve.

Michonne, that overwhelmingly good thing in his life, simply cooed him to calmness.

"Shhhh, baby," she said softly while she caressed the back of his head full of the curls she loved to run her fingers through, "Just let it out. Let it all out." Michonne knew better than to tell him everything would be ok. She had always hated when people said that knowing damn well they couldn't tell the future. Who knew if it would be ok? Who knew if his mother would be anything remotely close to ok? Michonne was nothing if not pragmatic and she also knew telling him something as trite and meaningless as that would result in nothing but disbelief.

After Rick had poured his soul out through his tears onto Michonne's damp shoulder, he took stock of himself and stood up straight. He took her firmly by the hips and moved her back from him, placing his forehead onto hers. They stood silently with their eyes closed; breathing each other's air for a few minutes.

"Will you… Do you want take a ride with me," Rick's voice betrayed some of the trepidation he had tried not to let show if she responded negatively. He wouldn't blame her in the least if she had made a bee line for her own car and fully avoided him when she first came out. His hopes flew up into his heart from his stomach where they had lay in wait to be dashed before she came up to him and put her slender arms around him. He just knew that after seeing his true background, what made him who he was, she would go running from him with a grateful nod to the fates that she could finally be rid of the white trash she had let into her life. But no, not _his_ girl. She met him head on and held him and stood there and _asked_ for his pain. Asked him to let go of it all while she stood fast to receive it. He would never forget that moment of release she gifted to him. No matter what the future held.

"Yes, of course," Michonne didn't hesitate giving him one last squeeze around his neck before she made her way around the truck to the passenger side. She noted the back of his truck bed had it's cover on but figured he probably had car parts from his job that he didn't want exposed to the hot August sun. Rick had gotten in by the time she got over to the door and leaned over to open it for her from the inside. She stood on the foot baseboard to hop in only to falter slightly when she saw the large envelope with a university logo embossed on the label. Rick noted her hesitation and took the envelope from the seat, putting it onto the dashboard and waited for her to situate herself comfortably.

He started the truck and pulled out of the parking lot while she stared straight ahead and mentally prepared herself to begin her speech.

Again he headed her off at the pass, "I know why you did it Michonne. I'm … I'm not mad at you but I just want to know," he started, "How'd you think this was gonna play out? I'm askin' because I really want to know."

"I really don't know how I thought it was going to play out," she answered honestly, "I just knew it was the right thing to do and you weren't going to do it."

He looked over at her quickly before setting his eyes back on the road, "I'm assuming you had help and I know it was probably Miss Peletier but I'm just … I just don't understand how I didn't know. We've spent everyday together. When did you find the time?"

She shook her head at the innocence of his questioning. He seemed more in awe than angry so she took a chance and spilled every bit of her plan to him on the ride. He listened attentively not giving any sort of response in the positive or the negative. He just continued to watch the road as she detailed the course of events that led to him getting an early acceptance letter. He never would have imagined a university that prestigious letting the likes of him mop the floors much less attend as a student. The same university that he knew was Michonne's first choice from the many conversations they had about her future plans. The only time he responded with any modicum of emotion was when she got to the part of her applying to _multiple_ prestigious institutions on his behalf. His eyes widened and he turned to her in surprise, "How many Michonne?"

"Well only the same five I applied to," she finished, "Every application I did I had two of them. On the nights you saw me filling a couple out I was actually doing yours. I had already finished mine weeks before."

By this time Rick had turned off onto a dirt side road but Michonne had been so into telling her side of the story, trying to glimpse any sign of retribution from her boyfriend that she didn't notice they were in unfamiliar territory. It was only when he put the truck in park that she became aware of her surroundings. They were parked at a wooden gate, that opened onto another road that split through a lush green field spotted everywhere with all manner of colorful wildflowers. In the distance she could see a sliver of sparkling water that had begun to take up the various colors of the approaching sunset. Rick got out of the vehicle to unlock the gate and got back in to drive through. Michonne remained enthralled by the simple beauty of nature surrounding them as he drove the short distance from the gate to the edge of what she could see was a small lake.

Rick remained silent as he turned off the ignition and pulled the key out. They sat in the quiet of the truck's cab and although Michonne wanted to ask where they were exactly she still had one more thing to say.

"Look, I know there's no excuse for what I did. Even now I'm looking back and seeing all the times I could've told you or just asked you if this was something that you even wanted," she started, her voice filled with emotion, "I never wanted to hide anything from you but I wanted to show you that you are so much more than you think of yourself. You act as if life has given you no choices. Like you're not good enough to have choices… to have _me_ in your life. I just wanted to show you just a little bit of what I see in you that I wish you saw in yourself."

Her throat started to clench with the raw power of what she felt for the young man sitting beside her. Rick was still staring ahead at the rippling waters of the lake.

"I know you think I'm going to go on and leave you here, and… maybe… we do have to separate and go on without each other," she watched as Rick clenched the steering wheel at her last few words, "But I just wanted you to see that _we_ didn't have to. Not if… not if you had the choice. You don't have to stay here. Isn't going out and trying to make a better life for yourself a better choice in the long run? One that could even benefit your… your mother. You don't have to be _here_ just to be there for her."

Rick let out a long breath before he turned to her with new tears welling up in his azure eyes. He was determined not to become a blubbering fool until he finally got out what he wanted to say.

Michonne held her own breath while she watched him gather his thoughts.

"I… I know. I know you're right. I know that now," he started when one tear escaped to run down his cheek, "If it's a choice of staying here and going through the same bullshit like what you saw today and going out in the world and tryin' to reorder it to make it work for me… for the two of us. Well… that's a choice I'd like to have. If that's something you wanted."

"Yes, Rick," she looked up shyly at him and took his hand into her small one and brought it up to her lips for a small kiss, "That's something that I want."

Rick leaned in and moved slowly towards her, only his eyes shining with unshed tears of happiness showing the extreme joy that nearly burst his heart wide open at her soft acquiescence. He didn't close them, he wanted her to see everything he couldn't say in his overcome state as he leaned in to place the sweetest kiss he'd ever given in his life on her beautiful lips.

Sweet soft pecks to her mouth turned into feathery kisses on her cheeks as he tasted the salt of the tears that ran down her face. His hand moved from her grasp and found its way to the curve of her neck to bring her even closer. His thumb circled her rapidly beating pulse point and her plush lips parted for his tongue to dip in to meet hers. It was a slow languid kiss that felt like the first time their tongues ever met. Michonne's hands drifted to the back of his neck to nestle in the soft curls she adored as the kiss went on for what felt like time immemorial. They finally broke apart, both sniffling to catch their breath and leaned their foreheads together.

"Well look at us," he murmured eyes finally closed as he breathed in their shared oxygen, "A couple of crybabies. What would Sasha think if she could see us now?"

A small giggle erupted from Michonne, "Well she'd probably tell us to man up," she chuckled, "And then she'd probably punch one or both of us."

"Yeah, you're right about that," he sighed and released his grip on her to sit back in his seat,"You usually are about most things."

She shook her head and looked around, "So, are you going to tell me where we are?"

The impish grin she loved appeared on his face when he answered with his hand on the door handle, "Well hop out and I'll show you."

He jumped out hurriedly and she followed suit going towards the back of the truck to find him pulling the black tarp cover off revealing the truck bed. Michonne gasped at the transformation of the usually filthy truck bed. In place of the random car parts, dead leaves and the detritus that was normally housed there was a full mattress complete with a colorful downy looking duvet, several throw pillows and a picnic basket sitting in the middle.

"Wha… how," Michonne couldn't form words at the sight.

"Well, originally, this was supposed to be a surprise for you, ya know since we didn't get to do a big 18th birthday thing earlier together this summer," he explained, his hand going back to his head and rubbing it nervously, "Since you had to spend it with your dad and all, I was gonna save it for an end of the summer/labor day/back to school thing for us." He knew he was rambling but the stunned look on her beautiful face had him second guessing his plan.

"But now I figured," he started in again, "we have something to properly celebrate that I never thought would be possible." He stepped over to her and pulled her towards him by her hips and said quietly, "We're celebrating me goin' to college."

"Oh Rick," Michonne breathed out and reached up to pull his face down close to hers, kissing him with a hard fervor that blew the sweetness of their earlier kiss from memory. His grip on her hips tightened as he leaned her into the truck's tailgate. She could feel the cool metal of the car through the thin material of the maxi dress she wore in direct conflict to the heat she felt building from her core as Rick pressed her further against it with his entire body leaned into hers. A small moan escaped her when he abandoned her lips to trace his tongue down the side of her neck. He sucked lightly at her pulse point before he made moist circles with his tongue. Her fingers curled into tighter fists at the nape of his neck and tugged at the soft hair that curled there. Rick let out a low growl from deep in his throat and lightly nipped at her bare shoulder.

He was reluctant to stop but he pulled away to take a beat before they got too carried away too soon. Michonne whimpered at the loss of his body heat when he stood back but kept hold of her hip with one hand and disengaged the lock of the tailgate with the other. He stepped backward taking her with him so he could get the tailgate down. In one fell swoop he picked her up and placed her gently on top of the makeshift bed. The firmness of it came as another surprise to Michonne and she looked at him quizzically.

"It's an Aerobed," he answered her unasked question seeing her run her hands over the soft duvet, "Came with an electric pump that is powered through the lighter outlet inside. It can be used for camping and for the unexpected out of town guests."

Michonne couldn't help but laugh at the veritable commercial he just did for her. His adorable nervousness shined through and it endeared him to her even more.

"Or for making a Hillbillymobile a hotel on wheels," she snickered back effectively lightening the weight of his increasing bashfulness with some levity.

"Yeah, that's what it said on the box," he retorted before he climbed up to join her, "Or for one day."

She grabbed his t-shirt and pulled his body over to cover hers as she leaned back. He hurriedly moved the picnic basket out of the way before her head could collide with it in her haste to get them into prime position.

"Yeah, that one day," she breathed out before bringing his kiss bruised mouth to hers. She sucked his pink bottom lip into her mouth while Rick began to grind into her center with his ever growing hunger to be closer to her. His hands roamed her body fully from her bare shoulders to her slender thighs. He cradled her head in the crook of his elbow, delving deeper into her sweet mouth as his other hand found its way to the hem of her dress. He slowly maneuvered it up until his fingers felt the very edges of her panties. They both stopped kissing to stare into each other's eyes. This was usually the point where Rick's down home manner halted any further action but they both knew that wasn't going to be happening this time around. To further the point, Michonne reached down, took his hand, and moved it inside the front of her moistened underwear.

"Oh my _Jesus_ ," Rick groaned out as he began to explore her inner folds and encountered the source of all the moisture. Michonne bit her bottom lip as she felt the heat and the unfamiliar pressure build up from her center. Rick watched her face to make sure she didn't feel any discomfort. He had done this before for her but he'd never brought her to completion and he needed to give her that bit of heaven before he could even think about the almost painful tightness in his jeans. For everything she was to him and everything they could be, he wanted to make sure he gave her as much joy and ecstasy that she gave him from just being with him. He also saw it as a way to prepare her for what was coming. Michonne writhed under his attentions and suddenly went stiff, letting out a moan that was the sexiest thing Rick had ever heard come out of her mouth. She ground herself onto his hands as she rode out the euphoric roller-coaster of her first orgasm.

She opened her eyes to find Rick staring down at her, his eyes the darkest blue she'd ever seen them. She wasted no time and sat up to pull the dress over her head and he near ripped his t-shirt over his. She went for his belt buckle next and had it undone as he knelt before her. Both fully undressed, their kisses became sloppy and impassioned. They each tried to get to any patch of skin within their reach. Rick finally grasped Michonne by her throat with gentle firmness that made her moan and laid her back down. He positioned himself between her spread legs and began to rub his manhood against her.

"Baby," he whispered huskily as he softly rubbed his thumb over her sweetheart shaped upper lip, "You ready?"

Michonne answered by pulling his thumb into her mouth and sucked it gently. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as his lower half instinctively rubbed against her apex.

He gave another growl as he positioned himself at her opening and slowly began to enter her. Michonne stopped sucking his thumb and held her breath as she was slowly filled with the very essence of him. He went as slow as he possibly could, gauging each inch with her reactions. Michonne's mind and senses swirled with everything centered on this moment. The fullness of him caused some pain and she gritted her teeth as he came closer to the barrier that would be broken forever.

"You still with me baby?" Rick's body had begun to shake under the pressure of the restraint he was using to not buck wildly into her.

"I'm with you Rick," she replied, "I'm still with you." She pulled back as he pushed forward and the completed the connection that they were had so longed for. They each couldn't tell who was shaking more but their bodies took over after the initial shock of being forever tied together in this one moment. Rick rocked within her as she met him thrust for thrust. No longer feeling any pain, with each meeting of their bodies the pleasure began to build in both of them.

"Oh… my.. god Rick," Michonne bellowed out, "I feel so… so" the tears ran down her face as her mind tried find the words to explain what every sensitive nerve ending was telling her.

"I know baby, I feel it too," Rick groaned as he kissed her sloppily, "I feel you…I feel everything…" Both bodies started to move faster, reaching for the explosion they both felt coming from the center of their beings. Nothing mattered except the two of them in that moment as they rocked together in tandem each seeking to get as close as two humans could get to each other. Rick wanted to live in Michonne for the rest of his life and Michonne never wanted to let him go.

"I … my god! Michonne," Rick's last word was her name as he felt her tense around him and he burst within her. The whole world seemed to stand still as they lay entwined together, their hearts beat against each other and they breathed each other's rapid breaths.

The humid air of August surrounded them as they lay still connected while they exchanged soft kisses in the darkening night. The stars began to pop out when they finally separated and got under the duvet. Rick opened the picnic basket and produced two cups and a bottle of ginger ale as he told her the story about how his father had brought him to the secluded lake to fish on one of his infrequent "good days" . He'd always wanted to show it to Michonne but the timing was never right.

"So you see, there's some really beautiful parts on the other side of the tracks if you know where to look for them," he finished.

Michonne snuggled up next to Rick and couldn't have agreed more.


	7. Still Growing - Winterscorpion Excerpt

**A/n: My latest contribution to another awesome collaboration for weretheoneswhowrite and got to work with the heavy hitting all-stars thematsaidwelcome79 comewithnattah siancore and mswritertee. Needless to say I fangirled mighty hard to be a part of this sexy tale of our favorite Zombie Apocalypse cowboy and how the love of a queen spurred his growth from an angry and dark place to flourish in their love. If you haven't checked this story out on the weretheoneswhowrite FF page you are missing out.**

 *****WSWSWSWSWS*****

Chapter 4

Rick was halfway bent down retrieving one of several overturned vases when he thought he heard his wife tell a very unfunny joke.

"Baby, I'm sorry what was that," he said still bent over looking up at his wife, who was still perched on the table they _just fucked on_ , "It … ha.. huh… sounded like you said you weren't coming home."

"Rick, you heard me," Michonne replied, still in a daze from their latest table romp, though not so dazed that she felt she had to repeat herself. She gingerly let down one of her legs to steady herself onto the floor, luxuriating in the pleasurable soreness no amount of yoga could prevent once her husband got to her.

Rick stood upright with the quickness and tilted his head, as if that could help him see her better… to understand her better. What he did see were remnants of their coupling slowly trickling down her inner thigh. What he understood was that his dick was still damp from Michonne's very essence that she had blessed it with, _several times_ , just a few moments ago. What he didn't understand were the words that were coming out of her mouth. He watched her step lightly down from the table, walking with a tentative bow legged gait to rival his own, and retrieve her discarded clothing

"No baby, I don't thank I heard you correctly," he replied, his southern drawl stepped up a notch in agitation, "Cuz it sounded like you said you wasn't comin' home with me… _today._ I know I heard you wrong so Imma need you to repeat what you said."

Michonne moved to the bed to grab her bathrobe. Having decided that she needed to actually shower the intoxicating smell of her and her wily man off if she was going to be able to stick to her stalwart position. She avoided Rick's tensing stance as she gathered some clean clothes and a towel to take with her to the en suite shower in the room.

"Rick, I am coming home. I always was," she started, eyes averted from the two blue lasers burning into her, "But not today. There are still a couple of projects that I am overseeing for Ezekiel that I need to see executed fully … _and_ I have to say… I'm not very convinced that you've 'worked out' your anger issues." Her fingers still in air quote position as he made a few steps toward her. He stood next to her, staring at her profile, wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her to him.

"Michonne," he growled as he ground into her side, feeling the beginnings of another erection rub against that special spot on her hip, "I came here… crawlin' back to you. The Kingdom isn't where I wanna be. But here I am like a puppet on a string… for you. For my family."

He pulled her tighter against him and slipped his hand into the loose front of her robe. His large palm found its rightful place on her firm breast and squeezed tenderly. Michonne got lost in his smell surrounding her... and his persistent graze of her nipple... and his whispered, pleading rasp in her ear as she leaned into his embrace. Her head tilted onto his chin while his hand travelled down to her taut abdomen. She shivered from her core in his embrace.

She wanted to pause his advancing hand but then his irresistible drawl found its way to her ear again in a husky whisper, "Are you mine, Chonne? Are you sure?" His hand had made its way to the loosely tied belt of her robe, easily undoing it so the garment fell open, leaving her front exposed to his persistent assault.

"Is this mine," he whispered again as his hand moved to cup her swollen womanhood, "It felt like mine a few minutes ago. It _still_ feels like mine." His middle finger didn't even pause to make its usual pit stop at her already sensitive nub. As if knowing its mission, it travelled down her slippery slit directly to her opening and slid into _home_. Michonne hissed while his finger pumped and swirled in her heated canal.

His other hand gripped her closer to him and he tilted his groin into her, "You tryin' to make me go crazy stayin' here. Is that it Michonne?" She bit her lip at the way he made her name sound like thick honey falling from his lips. With every side rub of his hardness on her hip she knew she was going to lose this battle. Even so, she was determined to win the war. Even as she felt the steady rise of her third climax in the matter of a few minutes, she knew that she had to stand on this hill she was willing to die on. Rick's sanity and the foundation of their relationship depended on her victory. Even when her hand went to the top of his to guide him further into her and even as she let the moan of his name slip from her lips, her mind had a focus on his well-being. Rick had to know his overprotective brand of crazy was going to be the wedge that even the purest of orgasms would not be able to dislodge. _No, he's gonna learn today_ , she thought as she moved her pelvis in a steadily rapid rhythm that was about to drive her over the edge.

He pushed his index finger in to join its usual partner in crime and curved them into a come-hither motion, beckoning to be awash in her wet release.

"Or maybe you think these Kingdom fellas can do what I'm doing for you? Is that it Michonne? You think them little boys sniffin' around you can make you wet like this?" His grip tightened on her at the very thought of the wavy haired United Colors of Benetton boy toy group he first encountered having the nerve to breathe the same air as his woman. Much less, the nerve to have her name come so nonchalantly out of their mouths in conversation.

"You think Sam…" he added another finger, "or PJ… " he thrust a little harder and added his thumb in for playtime on her swollen clit, "or Moe can make you come the way I'm about to? Huh baby… you gonna answer me?" He bit into her shoulder and Michonne's grip on his hand tightened.

He licked the spot he bit to soothe the bruise he knew would come but he didn't halt his penetrative assault. The wet music their joined hands were making with her pussy was obscenely loud in the silence of the room as Michonne felt her body tighten for its final release.

"I'm… yours Rick," she gritted out, "I'm all your… fuck… that's… ungh… god right there...that's not what this is about." She couldn't hold on much longer but she needed him to know she was stronger than the orgasm she felt barreling to the surface.

Rick felt her pulse more of her essence into his palm, "Say it again Michonne. Say it…" he was deep in her heat and his cock was a stone hard warning in his jeans, "I'm yours. You still mine? Is. This. Still. Mine... C'mon say it."

"Yessssssss…. It's yours Riiiiiiiccckk," she screamed as she felt herself release from a well that she thought she had depleted. Every spasm of her pussy released a little more moisture as her heart raced from the exertion brought on by the ravaging thrusts of his fingers.

He let her spill into his hand, ignoring the jealous point of his engorged manhood trying desperately to escape its denim prison. He kept his hand in position so he could feel every quiver, each tightening muscle. He loved to feel what only he could do to her. Loved watching her relinquish her control to him. What he didn't love was what she said once she got her breath back and pulled away from him.

"I have work to finish. You're going to let me," she stepped away from him, "I'm getting into the shower. It's too late for you to travel back tonight. So you're staying too."

Rick looked dumbfounded from his dripping hand to his wife's retreating back, "But… Michonne -"

"No buts… and you're sleeping with the kids. Hope your back is ready for bunk beds. Cuz that's _yours_ tonight."

###

"Did you see the size of that thing?"

"So that's the infamous Colt Python huh?"

Carl's ears perked up at the familiar words so closely associated to his family name. Well, to be more accurate it was associated with his dad but that wasn't possible…

"And his 'aim is still surgical', I mean what the actual fuck."

"Well you certainly looked like you shit yourself."

"I damn near did. I repeat. Did. You. See. The. Size. Of. That. Thing?"

"I was too busy trying not to get shot to pay attention to the size of the hand cannon that was aimed at me to really have an opinion. And did you see the look in his eyes, all gruff and scary with the 'Where the fuck is my wife'? If the bullet didn't get us then for damn sure that cold dead stare would finish the job up nicely."

Carl sighed as he walked behind the trio of men on his way to pick up his little sister. _Well, I guess dad's here,_ he thought with a shake of his head. He sped up his steps so he could try to get to Michonne and give her some warning.

"Come on man, he wasn't that scary. I still think he's too old for her."

Carl's footsteps took a moment's pause as he looked at the back of a blonde Kingdomer. _Did he just say_ … ?

"… Walking in there like that. 'Where the fuck is my wife'… I mean come on. If he had to come looking for her how surgical can the 'Famous Rick Grimes' aim really be," Sam said then chuckled, "Did he forget where he put her with his old ass?"

"I'm pretty sure he knows exactly where she is. I'd also bet he has no problem forgetting where he'll leave your body if he heard you talking about _her_ like that," Carl snarled just loud enough for the trio to take their own moment's pause in their footsteps. They each slowly turned around to face the young male heir to the Grimes name and lethal temper, "He passed his aiming skills onto me you know. I only got one eye left, but I can still do this."

Quick as a flash Carl had his hunting knife out and had it hurling through the air, spiraling quickly past the blonde shit talker's ear, nicking it in its progress to the tree directly behind him. It landed dead center of the tree with a satisfying 'thunk'. All three men did a double take staring in awe back and forth from their young assailant and the tree.

"What the actual fuck? I'm bleeding for Christ's sake," Sam yelped seeing the blood on the hand he just pulled away from his ear, "You're just as crazy as your father!"

"If you think that's crazy, wait till you hear that I'm disappointed in myself," Carl grunted, and just as swiftly, he had his gun drawn and cocked before Sam could even complete his next thought, "I really wasn't aiming for that tree."

"Hey Carl, no harm no foul man! Sam here is just being an ass," PJ pleaded, his hands already in the upright position. Dennis attempted to pull Sam back into his right mind, muttering what sounded like _you don't want to fuck with this family._

"Well, I suggest you watch what you say about my 'old ass' father," Carl replied, "And keep your eyes off of my mom while you're at it. We clear?" He didn't even wait to hear the mumbled acquiescence as he walked calmly to the tree without sparing a glance towards the three men. He retrieved his knife from the tree and continued on his way, quietly seething to himself.

He knew part of the reason they were in the Kingdom was because of his misguided attempts to gain some sort of closure from his conversations with Negan. He knew he couldn't explain the draw the murderous former leader of the Saviors had on him. Maybe it was the darkness in the smooth talking sociopath that Carl had himself felt rise and lingered just under his surface, ever since this hell on earth life had begun. In his short life he'd had to kill the man who he had known to be his favorite uncle. He'd had to shoot his own mother to prevent her from becoming a monster sheathed in her skin. He'd even had to kill an unarmed boy not much older than he was… that was it. That was when he'd let the darkness take over. Even then he had known killing that boy was not only wrong but the coldest thing he could have imagined doing in his young life. After his father's intervention of good old fashioned hard work in the prison's soil and Michonne's ever present support, Carl had learned to quell that side of him that brought out the darkness.

Then Negan happened. Him and his bat happened. Him and his megalomaniacal demands on his family and community happened and the darkness was back in full force. After they had won the war the darkness still lay there, festering in his heart like a poisonous cancer. He wanted Negan dead. He wanted him dead for strong bullheaded Abraham and Sasha who barely got to see any bit of happiness before they were both taken away. He _needed_ Negan dead for Glenn, who he had known since the beginning of the mad chaos that was the new world. Glenn who had brought his father back to him alive without even knowing the gift he brought to the quarry so many long days ago.

Carl was sure that speaking to Negan and trying to figure out what made him tick would quell that dark thirst for another human's death. He couldn't reconcile his desire to end another fellow human's life when the real enemy, the true undead, should have been the top placeholder for that hate. Since they had arrived at the Kingdom, he had tried to explain to Michonne, why he was continuing to visit Negan, even against her wishes. Michonne being who she was, and always keenly in tune with her boy, knew that he felt like a monster having the murderous feelings he did and did the best thing that she could do. She listened. Listened to what that piece of shit poured into her son's ear during their talks. Listened to the questions Carl had for the imprisoned enemy.

As he spoke about it, he realized Negan's manipulations and his own strength in not giving in to any of Negan's machinations. He realized that the man was just a man. A sick, despot of a man but still just a man that this apocalypse had nothing to do with. Negan was always an asshole and the apocalypse simply fed into his assholery in the worst way possible. Carl also saw how his father could never have been Negan because he was always a good man. If he really thought about it, he was his father's son after all. He could be a good man too. By the end of Carl's cathartic confessions, he was in tears but relieved that he had finally unpacked his fears and Michonne was in tears from witnessing that burden lift from his youthful shoulders. At the end of the day, Carl realized he should have just come to Michonne in the first place.

Now he hurried to their domicile at the Kingdom to warn her that the other reason they were at the Kingdom was in close vicinity. He hoped he could beat his father to her or at least head him off at the pass so he could have a good talk with him too. From the way those three idiots were talking, he could only imagine what his father's reaction would have been if he had encountered much of the same. The very thought of his father and his colt python running wild within the kingdom shouting 'Where the fuck is my wife' spurred his feet into moving faster.

He rushed through the door, not thinking to knock, "Mom! I think Dad is here and he's probably on his way to us right n.." Carl was stopped short as he was greeted with the familiar broad back of his father standing at the sink washing his hands, "Oh shitfuck… uh… hi dad."

"So that's what you're learning here? Cussin' like you have no damn sense," Rick turned around to face his tattle tale son, "You're lucky Michonne's in the shower because I'm pretty sure she could figure out a way to make sure a Kingdom groundin' feels just like a Safe-Zone groundin'."

Carl thought for sure he'd have gotten a pass for that slip up but he didn't want to push it, "Sorry Dad. Just surprised to see you is all… so umm… I guess she knows you're here so I guess… I'll just … um… go.. Maybe go pick Judith up… or just… go... somewhere else. Not here."

Carl knew how his parents could get when they were within touching distance of each other and he didn't want to break his streak of not being caught in the heated crosshairs of their volatile affections. He managed to take a brief look at the room and saw that a few of the vases containing Michonne's gifts had already fallen victim to the hurricane that was their intense… whatever they called it. He figured if Michonne was in the shower then that could only mean they were headed home.

He hoped that his father's appearance meant that he too had had some sort of epiphany. But in all honesty, with the 'where the fuck is my wife' still echoing in his mind, he highly doubted it. Michonne wasn't a weak woman by any means and Carl was actually pretty proud of her leaving and staying as long as she did. However, it seemed his father was back in her orbit. Carl could only imagine what kind of persuasions he used. He could almost see her breaking and returning to the Alexandria Safe-Zone, his father's lesson unlearned and her still feeling the pressure of being loved the Grimes way.

"Well, I'll come with you," Rick said with a sigh, "Cuz it looks like we're gonna be here for one more night at least. Michonne is… determined… and so am I," Rick dwindled off and a flash of hot anger crossed the electrified blue of his eyes.

"We're staying," Carl exclaimed surprisingly, "You… you too?"

"Yeahhhh… and looks like I'm bunkin' with you and your sister too," Rick chuckled derisively, "So you may want to tell me which bunk you prefer. Top or bottom? Makes no difference to me."

Carl stifled a laugh at the thought that his father had been relegated to sharing the cramped bunk beds with him and his little sister. He again felt that surge of pride in Michonne. _Good for her_ , he thought, _sticking to her original plan._ Maybe he could help the woman who had come to mean so much more than a best friend to him.

"Well I'm top because Mom was afraid of Judes falling off. But she's been sleeping in the big bed with Michonne anyway so the bottom bunk's all yours."

"Sounds about right. Can barely keep Judith out of our bed at home so at least that hasn't changed. C'mon let's go get her and you can tell me about what you've been up to while Michonne gets cleaned up."

###

"You know Dad," Carl started off tentatively as they walked side by side to the nursery to pick up his little sister, "I'm not really surprised you're here. I'm just surprised that it took you so long."

Rick scoffed his response, not surprised at his son's non-surprise at his sudden appearance. His pride in his boy knew no bounds as he glanced at him from the side vision. He had watched his son mature from a precocious willful young boy into the pensive young man making strides that were longer than his now. He saw this new world tear his only son's childhood away like the jaws of the very undead that they fought with daily. Its harsh cruelty sowing a seed of darkness that Rick recognized and was so familiar with that he almost didn't try to stop it from taking root.

Rick knew that darkness well. He knew the taste of its bile intimately. He had wallowed in its cold embrace from the moment he felt the knife sink into his best friend's gullet. He let it drown him with its choking tentacles as he gutted the monster that held his dead wife's remains in its bowels. He almost let it break him as it gifted him with phantom phone calls in the prison and the even eerier phantom of his dead wife, looking more pristine and innocent in her ghostly form than she ever did in life.

Then _she_ came into his life. His Michonne. Even that day at the prison gate he could almost feel the darkness scream its defeat and release its hold on him. He didn't know it at the time but he damn sure felt it the moment he stared into those fierce brown eyes. He couldn't understand it either at the time but he understood it now. That earth shattering stare had felt life altering in its simplicity of force. Looking back, he now realized that _that_ was the beginning of everything. When the darkness had lost to the light of this powerful, fearsome, beautiful beacon of a woman he now called his. He watched as the seed in his son withered into dormancy under Michonne's watch. Rick would be forever grateful for the part she played in giving his son back a little of the sun that had been held at bay by the continuous mercilessness of the apocalypse that tried to conquer it.

Rick wasn't the only one grateful to Michonne. In order to thank her in his own small way, Carl saw fit to set his father on a better path.

"Dad… you know why we left right," he asked cautiously, gauging his father's response before he continued, "It's not just about Negan… or me talking to Negan."

"Son, I know why y'all are here and trust me, I know why I'm here. To get my family back where they belong," Rick responded.

"Are you sure? Because you being here… and don't get me wrong I'm happy to see you," Carl said, "Well it don't really seem like you _understand_ why Michonne picked us all up and came here. Seems to me you came here with the same … erm… behavior that drove her here in the first place."

Rick halted his steps to turn to his son and gave his boy a head tilt usually reserved for someone about to be on the receiving end of a red handled hatchet to the head.

Carl went on unfazed, "I mean, did you even see what she's accomplished here in a matter of a couple of days."

"Son, I saw enough," Rick said through gritted teeth, not willing to admit that he had barely noticed the feeding atrium Ezekiel had tried to show him when he first arrived. Didn't want to tell his son that he couldn't see past the haze of red that had fallen over his eyes the moment he heard that falsetto trio daring to speak Michonne's name.

Carl already knew though and said as much, "How could you see past that gun of yours aimed and ready to do some Grimes justice?"

Rick's head went straight in a flash and gave his son an incredulous stare.

"Yeah, dad," Carl continued, almost remorsefully, "How could you see past whatever, or should I say _whoever_ , seemed like a threat. Not a deadly threat mind you, but a threat nonetheless… to something that was yours."

Hearing all the truth his son was dishing out almost made Rick's heart stop. But Carl wasn't finished. Not by a long shot.

"See Dad, what you didn't see is that Michonne isn't Mom," Carl dealt his trump card and dared his father to try to bluff, "You think I don't remember or maybe you just don't think I was old enough to understand but I did. I saw Mom and… Shane. What they became. How _soon_ they became what they were. I … I look at Judith and I see so much of mom in her but Dad… I see little bits of Shane too."

Rick stood stunned.

"I was there. I'm the one that had to put Shane down. I remember how you were after. I know what died in you that night at the farm. And I definitely know what came to life inside you that night, because that was when the same thing came to life in me."

"Son," Rick started, his voice so raw it went raspier than even he thought it could go.

"No Dad, I'm talking now," Carl defiant in his bravery, "What you don't understand is that Michonne came and I saw it… felt that thing gnawing inside me _and you_ start to go away. From the moment she became one of us, I felt the pressure of it kind of ease away. And you did too! Maybe you don't remember, but I do. You started me farming not to soon after that. Tried to kill the darkness in me _and_ yourself. And I knew, everytime she left the prison it would try to come back but … just knowing she would always come back kept it bay. Now, I don't think we… me and you, are ever gonna let it die. In this world we're living in we can't. But… when it comes to her… when it comes to what's yours… what's _ours_ … we gotta let it lie. Lie in wait and use it. Use it for the ones that really deserve it. Not let it drive out the little bit of light we got."

Rick didn't know his face was wet until he felt an errant breeze blow by. This was the most his son had ever said to him in one sitting. The most truth anyone had ever made him face with the exception of Michonne's call to battle. And the truth hurt. But it healed too. He felt it break over him as he stared into Carl's blue eye, the lone survivor of the pair that were so much like his own.

Rick cleared his throat to speak, "Carl… it takes a real man to set another man straight and I'm real proud of you son. I'm proud of the man you've become. I'm prouder than you could ever imagine. It also takes a man to see his own faults and I'm so sorry that I've fallen short of the man and father I should have been… I –"

Carl cut him off, "Dad, you're every bit of proud of me as I am of you. Proud that I'm your son. You and Michonne… nothing against Mom because I will always love her, but you're the parents that I needed in this world. You're the team that I've always needed to be a part of. But, you just gotta _see_ yourself as a team. See Michonne as your teammate. Not something that's gonna be taken away, but some _ **one**_ who already sees you as her partner."

"When'd you grow the hell up on me boy," Rick snickered as he wiped as his face of the rugged tears that had escaped.

"Since I met Michonne," Carl said without hesitation, "and a little bit of help from my dumbass Dad."

"Hey now," Rick came back, barely hiding the gruff laugh that erupted from him, "Remember what I told you 'bout that Kingdom groundin'?" He grasped his son's shoulder to give it a squeeze and turned them back to their path, "Now let's go get your sister so you can show me some more of what you all have been up to. I'm sure there's lots I need to see of Michonne's good work."

Carl laughed as he turned and led the way.

###

The sun slowly chased the dark shadow on the two hands intertwined over the steady rise and fall of Judith's sleeping tummy. Rick watched the light make its slow progression over his large fingers interlaced in his wife's diminutive ones and counted his blessings while he watched his girls sleep.

That he didn't find himself waking up on the bottom bunk with his son, with all kinds of joint pains being the very least of the blessings he counted, he counted it nonetheless. Grateful that his wife took pity on him after seeing a brand new vase to add to her collection, full of Kingdom bred blooms to rival the ones that came before. The blessing of her poise as he came back with their children, brimming with pride from all they had shown him of her work there. The blessing of her forgiveness when he finally got to speak to her in the quiet of the night of his anger and how he never meant to let it be the force to push her away. The blessing he counted second was the love and understanding he saw in her eyes as she listened to his mea culpa was only beaten out by a very slim margin to his number one blessing.

"I love you," she had whispered to him over their daughter's light snores, "and I want to come back home...I… I just have to finish what I started here."

"Shhh…" Rick hushed her, "You take whatever time you need to finish this. You just let me know how I can help. I'll get in where I fit in."

Michonne chuckled quietly, fully aware of the dangers of a waking Judith, "Oh you fit in just fine Rick Grimes. But are you sure? It may be a couple of months. But I can certainly use all the help I can get."

Even though his heart wanted to scream, _a couple of months! hell no_ , his mind and a voice in his head that kind of sounded like his son, told him that the separation would give him the time to deal with the root of the strangling weed that was his anger and darkness. The time he needed to be the best father for his family, the best leader for his community and the best man Michonne deserved.

"Well if that's how long it takes… I'm giving you all the help I can give. That alright with you Partner?"

Even in the dark of the late night, the light from her gorgeous smile showed through.

"I'm alright with that … Partner."


	8. Mistletoe Found In The Bookstacks

**_A/n: Happy New Year! This was written over the holidays for this most wonderful time of the year. Chatmas was upon me and I had this very special Secret Santa Fic Wish prompt to fulfill for the very special isisnicole. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and all my best wishes in the 2019._**

 ** _PS this story felt a bit unfinished so look forward to me adding a_ _chapter_ _or two to round out the edges. But not before I conclude my baby Vengeance._**

 ** _PPS: please go ahead and thank my favorite Brandy4life nwfanmega for trying to cure me of my insufferable comma intolerance. God knows I won't. (you know i love you and I'm trying to be best for 2019)_**

 **Mistletoe Found In The Library Stacks** _(working title. if you all have a better suggestion for the titleI'm open :-) )_

"Well I sure wasn't expectin' this," Rick whispered into her ear. He had found a sweet spot right at the pulse point just below her left ear, feeling her shiver in his arms when he circled his tongue there again just to make sure. He let his right hand slide slowly of its own volition down the side of her waist, enjoying the soft feel of the cream angora sweater dress she had on. It was almost like he couldn't control his wandering hand as it found its way to the swell of her beautiful behind; he definitely knew his brain didn't tell his hand to palm that gorgeous bit of flesh.

From the moan she issued when he squeezed her bottom cheek, she didn't seem to mind the impropriety of his wayward hand. The sound alone in his ear gave his hand all the permission he needed. It took its cue and trekked down the path it seemed destined to make, following that delicious curvature for another squeeze. The tips of his fingers traced their way down the wool covered gluteal cleft eager to feel what was on the other side of the soft fuzzy covering.

His left hand seemed to have a better grip on the situation, holding onto the shelf above her head. His nails dug into the wood of the shelf in response to the hiss she ushered forth when his misbehaving right hand finally gave up the fight. Clutching the material upwards, he was met with the prize of moist heat coming from that sweet heaven he had imagined time and again before this serendipitous moment.

"Oh my god. Wasn't expectin' you to be so wet either," he murmured. His naughty right hand had moved the silk of her panties aside to get to the treasure of her ever moistening folds. She lifted her leg up to his waist so he could better access without any further impediment. He quickly found the swollen nub and used his trusty trigger finger to make small slow circles to goad the little pearl from its hood. He swallowed the short gasp that came from her luscious lips as her back hit the wooden shelves holding her up. She began to move her hips counter to his fingers circular motion to get the friction she desperately needed.

A nip to Rick's bottom lip spurred the awakening of the beast that was his erection. _No, wasn't expecting you to be a biter either_ , Rick thought as he pressed his _intentions_ into her front and continued to rub her from the back. They both began to grind into each other. He bent at the knees to angle himself more into her and used his left leg to nudge her legs to open just a little bit further. He heard a brief whimper during the seconds he took to replace his index finger with his thumb, but he made up for it by immediately sliding his middle finger into her canal.

"Rrrrrriiiickk, mmmm… ."

"Shhhhhh," he hissed in her ear and gave her gentle bite of his own on that same sweet spot, "You're gonna get us caught. How would that look hmmm?" He began to pump his fingers slowly into her, relishing in the defiant glint in her eyes. Her pillow of a bottom lip jutted out and he just _had_ to pull it into his mouth for a taste before he said, "The head librarian? Caught in the book stacks…" another thrust further into her, "With an honorable sheriff deputy of King County… damn you're getting so much wetter…" deeper still his fingers went, "Now how would that look … hmm? You gonna tell me … Michonne?" He knew he had found his target when he made a slight come hither motion with his two deadly weapons and she grasped his shoulder at the raspy sound of her name coming from his lips.

Michonne bucked backward into the shelves shaking the numerous tomes that were held there. She bit into his shoulder as she felt the shudder of her impending release grow from her center. His fingers made an obscenely wet sucking noise while he continued his pleasurable assault on her inner sanctum.

"Rick… I… oh my… I'm…I'm mmmmmm." He felt her start to pulsate around his fingers and ground even harder into her covered mound as the leg she had wrapped around him tightened around his waist.

"Oh, I know. I can feel you," Rick growled into her ear, "Can you feel me? My god woman, you're gonna… have me…" he felt pressure of his own coming from the base of his rock hard member. He couldn't believe this beautiful, sexy and … _dammmmn she is so hot right now_ , was about to make him release himself in his jeans like some prepubescent boy just from the sounds she was making in his ear. She grabbed him by the nape of his neck and clutched the brown curls that lay there as she pulled him into a deep kiss. His tongue found its way into her delicious mouth once again and tangled with a lingering peppermint chocolate taste from the hot cocoa she had been drinking when he had first arrived at the library.

He applied more pressure on his thrusts both in her and _into_ her and could feel them both speeding up their rhythm to get to the promised land.

"Yessssss… Right there Rick," she gasped, her breath ragged from the oxygen he had been taking from her, "Please don't stop… Please."

As if he could.

Rick had decided if he could always be witness to that look of fire that came from those dark chocolate pair of eyes that stared back at him, _this_ was where he wanted to stay for the rest of his life. He never would have thought this was how his day was going to end up when he took a chance to make a surprise visit to the library. He had just wanted to drop off a small Christmas present to the woman he had been admiring from afar for as long as he could remember. He wasn't the overly romantic type. Especially after his debacle of a marriage ending in a messy divorce. But after 40 plus years of being the quiet and steady man, he was so glad that he had decided to take a chance and finally walk into the library that fateful day a few months ago.

In thanks for her penchant for her favorite "Reading Princess Queen Lady" who held story time at the library his little girl, Judith, was getting an extra special Christmas in the form of a grand custom-made doll house, which he had wrapped earlier that day. He didn't want to even think of the possible missed opportunity that would have happened if he had just let his son Carl take his sister to the library that day, like usual. Carl also had a special present of brand new baseball gear to thank him for having a practice that serendipitous Saturday afternoon when he walked in the library with his daughter dragging him to get a "good seat" for a reading of "The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe".

As far as he was concerned, when he saw _her_ turn around to greet his daughter warmly, he got the best seat in the house. He'd never forget the moment she looked up from the warm hug his little girl had given her and their eyes met. The recognition instantaneous, shocking them both with its intensity.. "Wow. Hello Rick! Long time no see," she had said. Her long beautifully locked hair pulled into a side French braid that fell onto her shoulder. He couldn't believe his luck that she had actually remembered _him_.

"Wow yourself, Michonne," he remembered stuttering in response. All the years seemed only to make her more gorgeous and him just more… old. He had felt the crinkles at the corners of his eyes when he smiled at her. He thought he had felt every gray hair that was growing in his short beard and at the edge of his temples. The smile she laid on him though made him forget that he was pushing the other side of 40 and he knew at that moment that another set of twenty years would not pass before he saw her again. Thus began his regular trips to the library.

At first, he had only made sure that his Saturdays were free to accompany Judith for the weekly reading time, but after a few weeks, that just didn't seem enough. Picking up a chai soy latte and a peanut butter chocolate muffin every other morning on his way to the station seemed like the right thing to do. Especially when he got the immense pleasure of watching her take that first sip and savor the warmth with her eyes closed. His days would pass immeasurably faster thinking of her sweet little moan of pleasure at the first bite of the sticky sweet muffin. Soon enough, their morning meetings became, 'what time do you take lunch', and they had both steadily rebuilt the lost connection they had had from so long ago.

However, when he woke this particular morning, determined to finally ask her out on a proper date, hoping he had been reading all the signs right. After all, it _was_ that most wonderful time of the year when miracles and magic seemed to weave their ways into the cinnamon and pine-scented air. He had never imagined when he placed the small box wrapped in the festive red of the season and an overly big green bow with a card addressed to one Michonne Devereaux that he would be in the most darkened corner of the library, trying to stay as quiet as his desire would let him. Trying to fight off the growing weight of his hardness while he was essentially knuckles deep in the most beautiful woman he had ever known. He didn't know when she gave him that heart-stopping smile when she saw the gift, that not less than fifteen minutes later, he would feel her coming undone in his hand. Color him surprised when he felt himself make a final groan and knew that he was going to have to hold his jacket in front of him when they finally did exit their little secluded corner.

"That… was… one helluva thank you," he finally breathed out as he slipped his now soaked hand from underneath her.

"Mmmm… and to think," she giggled as she tried to catch her breath, "I just wanted to show you this." She pointed upwards and they both smiled as they saw the green evergreen plant with little white berries hung with red ribbon above them.

"Weellll, it is tradition after all," Rick said as he leaned in for another taste of 'tradition', "I'm hoping we can continue this bit of tradition later."

She returned his sweet kiss with one of her own. "Well, depends," she said with a small smile, "Do you even have any mistletoe?"

"Tons," Rick replied instantly making a note to stop by every florist shop on his way home.

"Thank you for my present Rick."

"Merry Christmas Michonne."


End file.
